Iomramhach-The voyage

by Sionnach 'Foxy' Lightfoot

I was born with an unhealthy amount of bad luck, I'm sure of it. How else can I explain why I was flung from one world where the worst that could happen is I'm late for the bus, to a place where death is following my shadow like a little lost lamb? Not to mention the fact that everything which is supposed to be make-believe suddenly walks, talks and treats me like a toddler.

4. Not Quite What I'd Planned

Author's Note: I don't, under any circumstances, own the game World of Warcraft, its works, nor any other such related works/games/books. I make no profit from this story.

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Chapter Four: Not Quite What I'd Planned.

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The last rays of the evening sun blazed through the window. I squinted blearily up at the light, slumped against the chest at the foot of my bed. Dried salty tear tracks cracked under my hand as I roughly rubbed my cheeks. I blinked, my eyes sticky and sore. How long had I been sitting here? A knock on the door caught my attention, snapping me out of my stupor.

"Come in." I called, my voice cracking woefully.

With a stiffness known only to those who've been sitting on their backsides for a long time, I stood. As I straightened myself and tried to clean myself up, the door swung open.

The innkeeper stepped in, hefting a large tray in her hands. She stumbled, only briefly, at my dishevelled appearance but had the good grace not to ask any questions. I watched as she placed the tray on a small table just in front of the hearth. With a smile and professional demeanour she turned to me.

"Would you like the fire lit for the evening?" she asked, clasping her hands before gesturing to the cold grate. "It gets quite cold up here at night."

"That would be nice," I replied, nodding. My stomach growled. I slapped my hands over it, flushing in embarrassment. "Excuse me."

She chuckled, walking leisurely to the door. "Not to worry. I'll have your fire lit and some wood sent up."

I nodded my thanks before watching her close the door, waiting until the soft clip-clap of her shoes disappeared down the hall before diving for the food. The steam filled my nose with such wonderful scents I could barely wait to eat it all. I sat in one of the chairs, balancing the tray in my lap and dug into the fare.

My God, it was delicious. Of all the stews I'd ever had in my life, I doubt I'd ever be able to compare them to the one I was currently wolfing down now. Big hearty chunks of meat, nice diced vegetables and a good, strong broth all mixed together beautifully. It was filling and it warmed me up right down to the tips of my fingers and toes with each and every mouthful.

The bread was even better. It was like the brown soda loaf that Nana would make, except it had more bits in it. Not bad bits, necessarily, but bits nonetheless. They were the crunchy, crusty bits that said 'I am bread.'

Unlike the soft, squishy, wan white loaves swaddled in packaging which sat dismally on endless shelves at your local Tesco or Lidl, this was the Good stuff. The handmade stuff, wrapped in Nostalgia. The butter tasted a bit odd though. There wasn't nearly enough salt in it for one and it was much too creamy. The bread made up for it I suppose. I really did like the bread…

A stout ceramic jug squatted next to the empty bowl. I picked up the equally squat flagon into which I poured the contents of the jug. Plain water, nothing that exciting, but the drink was welcome nonetheless. I frowned slightly as I brought it to my lips. It had a, what was it? There was a mineral smell to it. I took a cautious sip.

'Huh.' I gulped a bit more down. 'Mineral it is then.'

There was no niggling aftertaste of chlorine, or lime for that matter. It was very clear and fresh. Pure even. I liked it.

'I'll be staying away from that "Sea Breeze" stuff for a while, that's for sure.' I mumbled internally, recalling the unpleasantness of the headache from that morning.

When I finished up I piled the crockery into a neat stack and placed them with tray outside the door. With a sigh I turned back into the room and absentmindedly searched through my pack for something that wasn't there. I fiddled and fidgeted with the leathers, my needle, and whatever odds and ends were inside. I wanted to do something, but what I had no idea.

'I need to go for a walk,' my sensible voice told me. 'Get out in the fresh air, get my legs moving. That'll clear my head a bit.'

It was fully dark when I looked up at the window again, the room lit by those odd-looking magical lamps poking out from the walls. I probably should have stayed in for the night but I just wanted to occupy myself for a while before settling down and thinking about certain…complications.

'One thing's for certain though,' I told myself as I combed through my hair and let it hang loose, 'I need to stop being such a baby about it. I mean,' I fiddled with a wayward strand, biting my lip, 'it was only a kiss.'

Yeah, a kiss and a feel and a whole lot more. God help me, I need to kick him in the nuts the next time he tries something like that. What's his deal anyway? I certainly couldn't see the appeal. Alysria described me perfectly; pale, squishy, covered in speckles – exactly like a spotted dumpling. Unless he liked Chinese Pork Buns, I was completely stumped for answers.

"I'll wring it out of him the next time I see him, so help me, God."

I pulled on my boots and grabbed my pack, being careful about where I hid the money pouch, before venturing out into the now-nocturnal tavern. I was greeted by a wave of light, laughter and a healthy sense of rambunctious joviality. People were drinking, laughing, playing cards or sitting in the corner like naughty children. I left it all behind me as I stepped out into the street, shivering the minute the wind touched me.

"God, it's cold." I hissed, whishing I was clad in my big jacked instead of these skimpy leathers.

Still shivering, I walked the street, surprised at the amount of activity. It didn't feel like night. There was so much movement everywhere and all those lights more than made up for the lack of sun. If I hadn't been able to see patches of dark here and there from under the light pollution I'd have thought it was just an incredibly long evening. Another gust of wind left me chilled, annoyed and wanting for warmth, so I stepped into the nearest building without looking.

Just my luck that I'd bump into someone.

"Ouch!" I exclaimed as I fell back onto the cobbles. Jeepers. Whoever they were, they were built like a flipping brick wall.

My blood froze when I looked up to see who it was I'd bumped into.

"Well, well, well," The self-assurance was strong with this one. "What's this, the second time we've met in one day?"

Melandryn knelt down in front of me, grinning. I stared back, mute with shock and mortification. Two times, and both times I'd managed to fall rather ungainly onto my arse in front of him.

"Nice to see you too." I got out, awkwardly rising to my feet. "Sorry about that, y'know." I gestured clumsily, keeping my gaze fixes on my toes. "I'll just be going then."

To my surprise I felt a strong hand grip my arm as I turned. My eyes bugged out of my skull in an obvious question as he pulled me back around to face him.

"Not so fast." That smug grin morphed into a hard smile. The kind of smile that said 'business.' Hearing his voice again, I noticed it had an eerie quality to it. It was like there was more than one of him speaking at the one time, as well as the rasp.

"I have some questions I need to ask you, if you don't mind." His fingers tightened ever so slightly on my arm.

A nervous laugh escaped me.

"Uhhh," I looked him up and down, "what if I say no?"

He didn't answer. He didn't need to, really. I decided that chancing my arm with this guy wouldn't be the best option, especially when he seemed rather, well, volatile at this moment. I sucked in a breath and nodded in resignation. He grunted, the smile fading.

"I'm glad we understand each other." He tugged my arm, causing me to follow him, tripping a little as I went.

We walked through the busy hubbub, wandering away from the lights to a section of wall which had crumbled, leaving a nifty passage to the lower level of the island city, outside the high, pristine wall of course.

I got the shivers when I noticed the rather small but innocuous graveyard next to the wall. Surprisingly it had managed to stay intact under all the rubble. I would have reacquainted my bottom with the ground again as we scrambled over the detritus had it not been for the fact that the demon hunter literally hoisted me over to the other side as if I weighed nothing.

He set me down just outside the wall. I was caught off guard when he, as soon as he stepped down himself, scooped me up into his arms.

"Hey!" I elbowed him in the chest, "What the feck are you doing? Put me down!"

He raised an eyebrow. "The questions I have for you are rather…sensitive."

I blinked. A slew of thoughts from that statement left me reeling and, quite frankly, rather flustered.

"What, what's so sensitive?" I spluttered, pushing away from him and trying to wriggle out of his grasp. "What could you possibly have to ask that you don't want others listening in?"

He snickered at my reaction.

"Why so red?" He chided, leaning in and making my flushed complexion deepen further. "I don't know what you were thinking, but I can promise that it has nothing to do with that."

My mouth opened and closed mutely in indignation. Before I could throw him an awesomely witty comeback, I was shocked back into silence when he took off towards the edge of the island. Instead I unleashed a wordless cry of terror.

"What the feck are you doing?!" My heart leaped into my throat the minute he jumped off the edge. "Jesus, Mary and Joseph, are you trying to kill us?"

I panicked, burying my face in his shoulder, screaming. I could feel us soaring through the air for those few fatal seconds, wishing for the tell-tale jarring thud which would let me know that we'd land on terra firma once again.

It didn't come.

Instead I heard Melandryn grunt. His arms around me tensed, as well as the rest of him. A millisecond after I felt a pull, an upward pull. We stopped falling, or at least the speed decreased significantly. It actually felt as though we were gliding.

Curious yet still terrified I lifted my head out from where it was buried in the juncture between his neck and shoulder and peeked around. I caught eyes with him. Or rather, I looked at the acid-green glow emanating from behind his blindfold. My expression seemed to have amused him because he gave me a cheeky grin, flashing a pointed tooth.

"What?" He teased, "If I wanted to kill you, you would already be dead. Besides," the grin changed, making me shiver. "You're rather fun to have around."

"What do you –" I began to ask, my gaze straying from his to look over his shoulder. "Jesus Christ!"

Sprouting from his back, currently supporting the two of us as we sailed gracefully through the air, were a pair of massive bat-like wings. The skin was the same colour as the rest of him, only the membranes were a wee bit tattered here and there. They seemed to be connected near his scapulae, built like another set of arms, nearly.

We touched down onto ground before I could freak and I watched, speechless, as the appendages folded in on themselves, disappearing into his back. I then remembered the people I'd seen jumping off near the hippogryph landing, and my immediate thoughts of him being a full-blown devil were put aside. Instead, curiosity stuck its nose in.

Melandryn set me down on my feet and I immediately darted around him. My hands swept his long hair out of the way and roamed over the scarred skin of his bare back. He wasn't wearing those huge blades for once. There were no tattoos here, oddly enough, but that wasn't my concern at the moment. I was looking for where those wings had gone. His skin was smooth, where it wasn't scarred by little nicks and cuts, and it was also very hot. I could feel the muscles flex with each breath. He tensed up, whipping around and grabbing my hands by the wrists.

"What are you doing?" He asked, none too pleased.

My brain kicked back into gear then. Suddenly hyperaware of the fact that I'd been feeling up a rather good-looking elf without his consent, who was also bare-chested, I did the only thing I could do. I squeaked, my cheeks turning red, as well as my ears.

"You have wings." I got out, squirming in embarrassment. The way he was looking at me made me feel very uncomfortable. "You never said anything about having wings. I was trying to find out where they went." I made an effort to breathe normally, but ended up hiccupping instead. Lord, this one and his brother really made me go loopy.

His expression changed from annoyed to something more devilish as he watched me. I held my breath when he leaned in even more, so close his nose nearly touched my own.

"You know," he murmured, that odd echo in his voice almost as hypnotic as the fire in his eyes, "if you wanted me that badly, you could have just said so." I shuddered as he tilted his head, his smile widening. "It's dangerous to make sudden moves around me," He licked his lips, "you never know how I might react. Things might get a bit," another squeak escaped me when he pulled me quickly against him, one arm sliding around my waist, the other tangling in my hair, holding my face, "rough."

My knees wobbled, my heart was in hysterics and I couldn't look away from his eyes. I couldn't even blink.

'What's happening?' I asked myself as I felt his hand sneak to the hem of my jerkin, 'please tell me he's not going to do what I think he's going to do.'

I tried to speak but no words were coming out. He chuckled, the sound reverberating through the two of us. I felt very lightheaded.

"Too easy," he said so quietly it could have been to himself.

"Wha?" I blinked owlishly, slightly dazed and still caught in his stare.

"Nothing." He replied, releasing me and stepping back.

I stood there, swaying. Now that I was no longer caught in his gaze I could think clearly. It was almost as though I'd lost the ability to think the moment I'd made eye contact. Almost like…no. He didn't use hypnosis on me, did he? Was that a demon hunter thing? My brow furrowed firstly in confusion, then realisation and finally, anger.

"Oi!" I marched over to him, jabbing him square in the torso with a finger. "What the fuck did you just do to me?"

"Hmmm?" He leisurely folded his arms, that smug smirk tilting his mouth again. "What do you mean?"

"Don't give me that crap." I placed one hand on my hip and pointed at him with the other, wagging my finger like he was a naughty dog. "You did something to me. You, you, you..." He raised a long, feathery eyebrow, "you hypnotised me."

"Are you sure you weren't just overwhelmed by my charming looks?" He snickered.

"Good looks?" I exclaimed, fuming. "You horny bastard. You look like the devil and you're acting like it too." I flung my hands up in exasperation. How dare he? "Did you hypnotise me or use magic on me, or what?"

He unfolded one of his arms, gently brushing a finger under my chin, running it along my jaw. Before I could smack it away, he tilted my head so I was looking into his eyes again. Immediately my thoughts clouded, leaving me to focus on nothing except him.

"What hypnosis?" He crooned, eyeing me like how I would eye a cake. "You mean this?"

I didn't say anything. His laugh rolled over me as he dropped his hand and broke eye contact. Immediately I could think properly again.

"Yes, that!" I spat, my hands clenching and unclenching into fists. "Don't do it again, please." I pinched the bridge of my nose and took a few deep breaths to calm down. I scowled back up at him. "Weren't you going to ask me questions?"

He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. I squinted suspiciously at him.

'Don't tell me he's dragged me out here for nothing,' I shivered again as a small breeze whipped by, playing with my hair, 'I could be nice and warm in that bed…'

"You said they were of a sensitive nature." I prompted, spitting out a mouthful of hair, "you didn't want anyone overhearing?"

"Oh yes." The serious face was put back on. "First of all, were are you from?"

"Another world." I moved back and perched on a stray rock, crossing my arms.

"How did you get here?" He moved to stand in front of me, forcing me to crane my neck to look up at him.

"No idea. Hey, don't be giving me that." I glared at his expression. He had both eyebrows raised and his stance, even, told me he didn't buy it. "I have no clue as to what happened. I'm here in Dalaran to try to find out how to get back."

"Hmmm." He still didn't look as if he believed me. "You know, it is suspicious when you appear out of a wall, in a highly dangerous area known for demonic activity, in the lair of a rather powerful Eredar." I gulped when he bent down, slamming his hands either side of me. He leaned in, forcing me back onto my elbows. "I almost thought you were a demon yourself before I checked you."

"Checked, checked me?" I stuttered, "How?" I trembled in the awkward position, feeling especially vulnerable with him hulking over me the way he was.

"Oh, we have our ways." My mouth hardened into a thin line. I didn't like the vagueness. "You're not a warlock, are you?"

I blinked. "What?"

He tilted his head, astonished. "You don't know what a warlock is?"

"The Hell if I know?" My head now bobbing and weaving from frustration. "In my world there are nothing but humans and all we do is hack each other to pieces. There's no magic of any kind. Coming here is like stepping a good hundred years into the past, actually."

"Just humans?" He frowned, seeming to not quite believe me. "That sounds ridiculous."

"Well, it's true." I tapped the back of my heel against the stone. "We don't all get along either, before you ask." I could see the question in his face. "We have all sorts of wars over land, religion, petty slights that have happened long in the past. It's rather pathetic if you think about it."

"So you had no idea that this world existed at all?" He placed his hands on his hips and eyed me. "No magical training, no dealings with supernatural beings, nothing like that?"

"Not even a sausage." I leaned back on my palms and met his gaze. He really did look intimidating in the dark with the illuminated tattoos and the horns. "Like I said; only humans. All the stuff about supernatural creatures; they're just fairy stories."

He pursed his lips and pondered for a while. A few questions of my own came to mind.

"What were you doing in that cave, anyway?" As soon as I asked, I saw him narrow his eyes behind the blindfold.

"That's not for you to know."

I shrugged. "What, still don't trust me, or do I need to get horny to hear that?"

He threw back his head and laughed. After perhaps two seconds I realised my mistake in my wording and clapped a hand over my mouth, my cheeks flaming with chagrin.

"I, I," I held my hand out, mortified. "I didn't mean it like that, damn it."

"You," he shook his head. "You really are something else." I folded my arms and pouted.

"I have another question." I said sulkily.

He gestured for me to go on.

"What's the deal between you and … your brother? Why does he hate you so much?"

He gave me a dark smile, dripping with poison. "I don't know you well enough to tell you that."

I immediately felt very, very afraid.

"Well," I gulped, feeling very exposed and vulnerable. "I'll leave it at that then, so." He moved closer, towering over me yet again.

"How old are you?" He asked, folding his arms again and tilting his head.

"Wha?" I furrowed my brow in confusion. That menacing aura had receded, leaving me very jumpy.

"How," he leaned down, "old," his face hovered just in front of mine, "are you?"

"Eighteen." I whispered, jarred by his sudden closeness.

He looked me up and down. I didn't know whether it was my imagination or not, but his eyes seemed to glow brighter. I suddenly felt the weight of his stare, almost like he was pressing himself against me, no, not against; through me. His look seared through me like a laser. My pulse picked up and breathing seemed to become more difficult.

"How, how old are you then?" I stammered, wanting to distract him enough to break his look which was making me feel so odd.

"Hmmm?" His expression softened into what I was recognising as his teasing face. "Why, afraid I'm too old for you?"

"No." I muttered. "Could you move back a bit too? You're crowding me."

"I'm not sure I want to." He leaned in again, meaning I had to move back even more if I didn't want to mush my face into his. "You're rather endearing when you're flustered."

"Well I want you to." I protested, now flat on my back on the rock. My hands pushed against his torso. He wouldn't budge.

"Hmmm." Was all he said.

He didn't move, just sort of hovered over me. The mischief faded, ringing some distant alarm bells somewhere in the back of my mind.

'Don't look in his eyes.' That small voice warned.

Too late. I looked, and was instantly lost. The glow seemed to intensify, becoming more alluring than painful to look at. I felt the slew of protest rising in my mind began to hush and fall back.

'He's actually quite beautiful,' I thought fuzzily as he bore down on me, his body barely pressing against my own, clasping my hands and pinning them above my head to the stone.

"I have another question."

"Yeah?" I mumbled, completely out of it by now.

"What's your relationship with my brother?" His nose bumped into mine, his breath ghosting over my lips.

"Your brother?" Who was that again? I couldn't remember.

"Faeldryn."

The name hit me like a bucket of ice-cold water. My head immediately cleared. I took one look at the position I was in and did what I should have done those first two times with that damned elf. My knee shot up.

"Get off me you horny gobshite!" I exclaimed, waiting for the connection.

He leaped out of the way of my leg, flipping over me and landing on the opposite side of the rock. I scrambled to my feet, feeling cold again. My arms hugged my chest and I shivered in the insufficient leather.

"Well," he wandered back to me. "That was unexpected."

"What was?" I scampered away, feeling like a mouse. "What are you on about?"

"Your reaction." He moved close again and I skittered back once more.

"What about my reaction?" I was beginning to get scared now.

He didn't say anything, just kept up that lazy stroll. I continued moving back, he kept moving forwards. The bastard was stalking me.

'God give me strength, am I really going to play this game all night?'

My feet stopped.

The gap between us closed.

I glared up at him.

"What's my relationship with Faeldryn got to do with you?" I growled, placing my hands on my hips.

"What is your relationship?" He stopped close enough that his toes touched the tips of my boots.

"I haven't the faintest idea." I swallowed nervously. "He keeps coming at me and I don't know why."

I don't know if that was the answer he was looking for but he seemed satisfied enough.

"Why do you care so much anyway?" I tilted my head to the side and raised a quizzical eyebrow. "I'd hardly think that the likes of you would want to have anything to do with me."

"I have my reasons." He stated.

"Which are…?"

The corner of his mouth twitched. "He seems to care about you in any case."

He clasped my cheeks between his palms, focusing his intense stare into my now wide, frightened eyes.

"What are you doing?" I panicked as I felt my body freeze. My thoughts became clouded. "Melandryn?"

His eyes narrowed behind the blindfold, the glow slitting through the cloth. He made an affirmative noise at the back of his throat and released me. I stumbled backwards, reeling and furious. My hand zipped through the air. Unfortunately it was snared at the wrist before it could reach its mark. I was fed up. By him, by Faeldryn, by this whole stupid world.

"Take me back to Dalaran, please." I grated, my breath huffing angrily. "I've told you all I know."

"Have you?" He pulled me towards him easily, even though I dug my heels into the ground. "I haven't finished all my questions though and," I sucked in a breath as his free hand reached back and tangled up in my hair, "I still have that debt to collect."

My heart raced a mile a minute. "You'd hardly want…that," I whispered, my mouth hanging open in surprise. "Please tell me you're not planning on…" I trailed off, trying to glean answers from his mostly covered façade.

My jaw dropped when he let me go, stumbling back as he let out a right bellow of a laugh. When the shock wore off I just stood there, my lips pursed and my foot tapping against the ground. He glanced up at me, throwing his head back again, those wickedly sharp teeth and curly horns twinkling in the starlight and the light shining down from the floating city behind me. I took in a deep breath, releasing it in a weary sigh.

"Are you quite finished?" I asked tartly as his hysterics died down. "I suppose I could stay up all night. It's not like I need sleep."

He waltzed over, shoulders bobbing, practically dripping with swag. "You should have seen your face." He chided, pointing. "Priceless!"

I raised an eyebrow, lifting my chin. "Huh," I curled my lip, "no need to tell me your age. You've got the disposition of a delinquent teenager."

"Aww," he bent, putting his hands on his knees and lowered himself as though he was talking to a child, "someone butt-hurt over a little joke?"

"No." I grabbed one of his curly horns, tugging on it and shaking his head. "Just a bit miffed, and tired and I really want to get back to Dalaran."

I released him and turned my back to him, walking towards the edge of the tiny island on which we were currently standing. Dalaran floated above and before me, lit up like a beacon. The view was phenomenal, especially the scattering of stars stretching behind it. But however intriguing the sight, what I desperately wanted was a warm bed and a good night's sleep. Well, what whatever night-time was left. There was just a small problem.

"Hey, Melandryn?"

"Hmm?"

"How do we get back?"

I glanced over my shoulder at the sound of him walking to where I stood.

"Did you get a Hearthstone from the innkeeper?"

"A hea – what?"

He sighed, muttering something under his breath.

"You really are something else." I squeaked when he grabbed my hand, placing a smooth, oval object into my palm.

I looked at the rock and to back him.

"Whazzat then?" I turned it in my hands. It looked white in colour with an elongated blue spiral scrawled in the centre.

"It's a hearthstone." He pointed to it. "It's bound to the inn. If you use it you can teleport back to the city."

"Oh. Okay."

I stood there for about half a minute, looking at the stone. I turned it around in my hand, I tapped it with a finger and I pressed it between both of my palms. Nothing happened, not even a vibration or anything like that. I was perplexed as to how it was supposed to work.

"Hey, Melandryn," I turned to him. He was bent double, shaking in silent laughter. I growled under my breath, landing a heavy slap against the bare skin on his shoulder. "Oi!"

"By Elune." He wheezed, his voice more raspy than usual. "You looked as if you were going to eat it." He straightened, nearly bursting back into giggles when he saw my face. "Here. I'll show you how it works."

I looked suspiciously at his hand, grudgingly placing the object back into his palm. He fiddled with it, pressing here and there. Suddenly he was engulfed in a blue glow, his form dissolving into nothingness. A liquid boom filled the air and I was suddenly left on my own.

"What the?"

I felt like the biggest fool to ever walk the earth.

"Oh my GOD!" I fumed, kicking the ground as I paced in an angry circle. "That's a classic! A fecking CLASSIC! That's Fairy tale levels of stupid." I threw my head up at the sky, wringing my hands in despair. "Why did I not see that coming?"

My answer was another gust of wind and, to my utter horror, raindrops. Perfect. Being the subject of practical joke wasn't enough. I had to be an utter drip as well.

"Oh come on," I shouted at the sky, flinging my arms up to the stars. "That timing's too perfect. It's almost like it's scripted."

My arms fell back to my sides with a damp flop. I wandered back to the rock and huddled down on the ground in front of it. My emotions plummeted with the same rate as the rain which was by now falling by the bucket load. The fresh water trickled down my cheeks like tears as I let my head hang. Dark, spindly strands of hair trailed down in front of my field of view, forming a ragged curtain around me.

What could I do now?

My hands clenched into fists. I stared down at them, watching the raindrops slide down my pale skin, almost corpse-like in the starlight. My chances of getting back to Ireland were looking less and less. I hadn't found any books which would have helped. I'd not been confident enough to take the proactive route and find a mage myself. Instead of looking for Davina, I'd gone my own way and run into Melandryn.

'Melandryn…'

My lip curled in irritation. Of the two I'd thought he'd be the easier brother to deal with, but no! The two were as bad as each other. One was a bipolar pervert. The other had a thing for tricks, or so I'd just found out. I wondered what kind of demonic power he possessed. Maybe it was Impish in nature. It certainly seemed that way.

The wind picked up again, biting even more now that I was sopping wet from the rain. I huddled into myself, pulling my knees up to my chest and bowing my head. The clothes I had on me did absolutely nothing to conserve any kind of heat. If anything they made me feel even colder. I probably should have walked around a bit in order to warm up, or at least attempt to find a way off this woebegone floating rock, but I just sat there quite literally wallowing in my own folly.

'Oh God, I really want to be back in that inn,' I lamented inwardly, squeezing my eyes shut. 'What I would give for a blanket.'

A noise to my left distracted me from my pathetic self-pity. I looked over, my tired brain struggling to make out what was going on. A large black bird had landed and was waddling over to me. The scaly, talon-tipped feet stopped just short of where I was sitting. It cocked its head, examining me with a curiosity which seemed far too intelligent for a raptor, even one of its size. I squinted. Something about it seemed oddly familiar.

My hand moved from its cradle between my knees and chest, gingerly reaching out to the creature. It twitched as my hand neared it and before I could touch it, it warped violently.

"Jesus!" I hissed, snatching my hand back and pressing myself to the rock at my back.

Faeldryn crouched where the bird once was, looking morosely into my eyes.

"Oh." I rubbed my tired eyes. "It's you."

No wonder it'd looked familiar.

"Aoibheann." He reached out a hand. "The innkeeper sent me looking for you. Why are you here?"

I smacked it away, glaring. Shock and hurt crossed his features, followed by realisation and reluctant acceptance. I huddled again and studied him. His long hair was bound to the back of his neck by a thick leather cord. He was still wearing those scruffy leathers stuck with twigs here and there. A thick hide cloak now sat around his shoulders though, the large hood was pinned down by the wind.

The feelings and recollections of the event from this afternoon, the very thoughts I'd been trying to run away from, now launched themselves to the forefront of my mind. I pressed the heels of my palms into my eyes, growling. Now was not the time. I was cold and wet and tired. Seriously. Give me a week and I'd be able to deal with this. Just not now.

'If you want to deal with it,' my sensible voice began, 'you might as well talk to him now. Get it over with.'

I really didn't want to, I wasn't ready…

'No more running. Stop being a baby.'

I rubbed my face, frustrated, and looked up at the elf before me. He hadn't moved an inch. He just stared with that plaintive expression, like I'd done something wrong to him.

"What's your deal?" I asked, attempting to pin him with my stare. I don't know if it worked or not.

He blinked, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"What am I to you?"

He looked genuinely surprised at that. His eyes widened, his lips parted and his head tipped to the side in a frustratingly adorable way.

"What do you mean?" He frowned, narrowing his eyes.

"What do you think I mean?" I shifted, placing my hands firmly against the ground, supporting my weight with my palms and knees and I got right into his face. "The minute I got here, from what I can remember anyway, you hated me. You moaned about how useless I was, you made fun of me because of my weight and whenever I tried to make peace with you, you blew me off."

I breathed heavily, frustrated yet again at the familiar prickling behind my eyes. I wasn't going to cry. Not now.

"Why," I jabbed him in the chest with an accusatory finger. "Why the sudden change? Why, when you'd wanted nothing to do with me before, were you, are you all over me like a rash? Feck!" I spat out a strand of hair which had just blown into my mouth.

As I sat there huffing and puffing, my chin wobbling, he closed his eyes and muttered something under his breath. I made an indignant noise at the back of my throat when I felt his hand gently close around my own, the nimble fingers prying it from its demanding gesture into a softer stance. Those same fingers entwined with my own as he clasped our hands together, setting them on his knee. He opened his eyes and saw me puff up again, ready to snatch myself back and lay into him.

'Would he just answer me already?' I glared daggers at him, my free hand clenching into a fist, 'he should know by now that trying to distract me like this won't work anymore. I just want some fecking answers.'

"It's because of that time." He admitted, his voice hushed and deep.

"What?" I cocked my head to the side, still wary but confused.

I drew in a breath when he leaned in, bringing his face close to mine. As softly as if he was stroking a kitten, his free hand brushed my wet hair, teasing the spindly strands. Even though I tried to supress it, I shivered at the contact.

"I saw you," he continued, his glowing eyes going all soft, "with a fawn."

My heart thumped. The memory of that day came back to me. He'd been sent out to fetch me, and had been especially pissed off to find me covered in bruises and scratches. I hadn't told him of what had happened because I'd figured he'd have scolded me. We'd already been on pretty shaky ground and anything I'd done to not upset him had been a blessing to be honest. As it happened, he'd pretty much dragged me back to camp by the ear and grumbled the entire time he'd healed me.

What he didn't know, or at least what I'd thought he didn't know was that I'd fallen down the cliff three to four times trying to reach the fecking fawn. The two, him and his mother, had narrowly escaped a bear. However, the mother had been injured on her flank and as a result had gone lame. The baby had managed to escape unscathed but it had fallen off the cliff. It'd landed on a precarious outcrop which had looked relatively easy to reach by foot but in actuality I'd ended up nearly killing myself in trying to reach it.

It was a foolish endeavour, they would probably end up getting eaten by wolves or another bear, but I'd felt my heart breaking when I'd heard the pitiful crying of the fawn. It had sounded like a child. I'd felt so useless and helpless those past few days as well, recovering from both my shock at my spontaneous interdimensional travel and also my injuries which I'd picked up during that journey.

The thing about healing, Mordaan had explained, was that the wounds could only be healed to a certain extent. Even the most gifted and skilled healer could only do so much. They may be able to sew flesh and bone back together as easily as a Night elf would make a tunic, but the smaller parts, like the capillaries and the nerves and even individual strands of muscle had to heal on their own.

I was made to rest for two days, for fear of harming myself. There had been a massive amount of internal damage from the way I'd been battered about in that tunnel. If Melandryn hadn't have told Faeldryn of my whereabouts, I'd have been carrion long before morning.

So when I'd carried the thing back to its mother, who'd cleverly hidden herself in a bush, I'd put some ointment to their wounds and left. The buoyant feeling I'd felt having done the good deed had been shortly doused when Faeldryn had found me minutes later.

Yes, it was foolish, yes I'd most definitely risked more serious damage to myself. The irate elf had fretted over me like a mother hen, interrogating me to no end on whether this hurt or that hurt or if I'd started coughing up blood. Eventually Davina had taken over. She had a much better bedside humour.

"You saw that?" I felt his hand leave my hair. "Why didn't you say so? Why didn't you help me?"

The back of his knuckles caressed my cheek. "I wanted to see what you would do." He chuckled at my bewildered and almost betrayed expression.

"You saw the size of those cuts, didn't you?" I brushed his hand off, only to have it become clasped in his own. "You were overly vocal about how irritable it was to heal them, especially the scrapes on my back."

"Yes, I did." He smiled, the warmth of it making me feel giddy. "But that's what changed my mind about you." I watched as his face softened completely, the strong lines and angles almost melting away.

'My God,' I fought back a sigh, 'He's really, really good-looking.' No, don't fall for that, Evie. I'll be damned if I'd let him have his way just because he looks pretty.

"You risked your own safety," he began again, clasping both of our hands together, "falling off that cliff to help the deer. It was so foolish that I almost stepped in."

"Well, you know, see," I stuttered, attempting to downplay the endeavour. The awe in his voice was a little much for me, "sure anyone would have done it, wouldn't they?"

He shook his head. "They would have left it to die, and probably would have finished off its injured mother." I blanched. "But you carried it back, injuring yourself in the process anyway, and even wasted that ointment Davina gave you on the animals."

"That was my good deed for the day." I muttered defensively. "Are you saying I shouldn't have done it then?"

"No, I'm glad you did." His features schooled themselves into a more serious expression. "I'm sorry." His head bowed.

"Huh?"

"For how I treated you." I stared at him, confused. "I just wanted to show you how I felt but," he sighed, tightening his grip, "I'm sorry."

My mouth opened and closed a few times, with nothing coming out. That little confession completely stumped me. I'd expected him to give me a lecture about The Circle of Life or Survival of The Fittest. I wasn't expecting this, this humbled person in front of me.

"Um," He lifted his eyes up to mine, a hopeful expression on his face. "I, uhh," why did his stare make me feel so odd? "Tha-thanks."

My God, that smile. There's no way a smile like that should make anyone feel so warm and fuzzy.

"I do have a question though," I began.

"Yes?"

"Why," my nose wrinkled, "in God's name would you go all gooey-eyed over me helping a deer of all things?"

He released my hands and wrapped his arms around me, surprising me with a hug. His body sheltered me from the rain, even more so by him pulling his cloak around me. My cheeks coloured in sudden warmth leaving me, stupidly, wondering for a moment if he could see my embarrassment.

"I told you that I'm a druid, remember?" He said, his voice rippling through me from how close we were to one another. I nodded. "I didn't fully explain what it is we do."

"So what do you do then?" I asked, my voice muffled by his cloak and my face mushed against his chest.

"We're protectors of the Wilds." I wriggled a bit, trying to get some room, only freezing up when his chin rested against the top of my head. "We safeguard the wildlife of Azeroth. Of course we understand and respect the Laws of Nature, but your actions with the fawn," he pulled back and looked down at me, warmth pouring from him. "It was foolish, idiotic, but after witnessing how determined you were, I couldn't keep my prejudices of you."

"So," I said slowly, "how, how do you feel about me now then?"

He held me closer, pressing his forehead against my own. All I could see were those bright eyes, like miniature stars. Through the shining I could see he had slitted pupils, like a cat. But they were dilated widely with emotion.

"I don't hate you." He murmured. "You're rather adorable, for a human."

"That's very informative," I snorted, my face reddening further. "I don't, didn't necessarily hate you either." My voice lowered at my next words, hoping he didn't hear them, "hard not to hate something so pretty."

"Pretty?" He scoffed.

My eyes widened and I clapped a hand over my mouth. So he had heard it. He smirked. Now there was the Faeldryn I was used to.

I suddenly felt extremely tired. With that nagging question cleared up, I felt like I could relax. I didn't really feel too upset about those time he jumped me anymore. Looking back I noticed his behaviour seemed to change the day after the deer incident. He'd become more playful and teasing, rather than cold and aloof.

'Yet again, I didn't notice,' I thought, 'of course I didn't notice. I was too wrapped up in my own little world.'

Fatigue wrapped around me like a blanket. I yawned, slumping in his arms as sleep threatened to pull me under.

"I suppose we should go back to the inn." He shifted me in his hold, carrying me in the same way he did the night he found me.

"Hmmm…mmm" I mumbled, unconsciously snuggling up to him, mostly because he was warm and I was sopping wet and rather cold.

The last thing I heard before I gave into sleep was the sound of his footsteps and the soft pitter-patter of raindrops against his cloak.

.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.

My God, it was hot.

"Hey Davina," I gasped, my breath short, "what exactly are we supposed to be doing here?"

The draenei looked over her shoulder at me with a withering stare.

"I told you before we left, you dolt." She said, fiddling with her sleeves. "We need to help to secure the area. The demon hunters," her lip curled, "need all the help they can get."

"Yeah, I know that," I tugged at the neckline of my jerkin, "you said I'd be able to talk to someone who can help me."

"Yes, but we need to finish here first."

I hung my head. Sweat dripped down my nose and trickled down my back. The air felt far too close, like I was being wrapped up in a hot, damp towel. The humidity was killing me.

"Am I even qualified for this?" I muttered to myself. "I'm certainly not built for the weather, that's for sure."

Davina had woken me that morning in a state of excitement and nervousness. She'd been called by the High priest to travel to Azsuna and help out the troops who were pushing back the Legion. I'd asked her why she woke me up to tell me and she'd told me that there was a very large chance that I'd be able to make contact with some powerful mages to help figure out how I was to get home.

Of course as soon as I'd heard that I'd been off like a shot, barely listening to the rest of what she told me was coming our way.

When we'd landed I'd had to take a few minutes to accustom myself to the sight. It was the same place we'd left not three days ago. At least I was sure we'd left somewhere in the area. We were on the coast anyway.

The pungent smell of seaweed, marine life and water was more enough to draw that conclusion. However, we'd landed in a warzone. Just ahead of us I'd witnessed a ramshackle camp, full of the dark and brooding Illidari, sporting their blazing tattoos and massive blades. They scurried about, bringing back their wounded comrades, patrolling on freaky-looking mounts and dashing out into the fray just a little ways away from the camp.

The camp itself had been hastily set up among the ruins of an eloquent yet bygone era. That much could be gleaned from the elegant tower, obviously Elvish, now housing a number of the demon hunters who were discussing matters in hushed tones. In the middle of the overgrown cobbles which made up the ground of the camp, was a pool. It still had water, but it was overgrown with aquatic flora to the point where the water was barely noticeable.

I glanced over to the left, noticing a tall pillar, atop which stood a statue of an elven lady. She looked like a Night elf. What else did they call themselves, Kadrye? Kaldie? No, Kaldorei. A small pang of sadness hit me for a moment when I noticed her heedlessness. As beautiful a statue it was, it was still a ruin, now marred by time.

Here and there were tents comprised of a dark purple material. Inside they were furnished rather sparsely; a stool here, a table there and of course weapon racks which housed those distinctive glaives. Movement to my right caught my eye.

Two human men were engaged in an animated and heated discussion. One had grey hair and was dressed in impeccable grey robes. The other had a pious air about him, enhanced by his ivory garments edged with gold and the impressive-looking staff strapped to his back. They were then noticed by a blue haired demon hunter who marched over and another debate ensued.

I blinked when, having seemed to have finished with the demon hunter, the grey man suddenly turned and in a puff of smoke, turned into a raven. The little bird flew off, wheeling above us. I craned my neck to watch its passage, noting that he was heading back for Dalaran.

'That guy must be either very important,' I thought, 'or very cowardly.'

Davina marched over to where the human stood and saluted. He must be the High Priest she'd been going on about. I made a mental note to talk about the religion of this place later. They discussed something at length. The content of the matter seemed to be of much importance if Davina's gestures were anything to go by. I turned away from their discussion, looking about some more.

My heart stopped when I looked just ahead of the outpost. It was as if a portal to Hell had been opened. The area, like the Illidari camp, was in the midst of the remains of an antiquated settlement of elegance. Craggy rocks jutted up from the rocky ground, littered here and there with patches of grass and the ruins of a once elegant stone bridge sagged ahead and to the left of the camp. However, where there should be the tranquillity of antiquity there was only chaos.

The shouts, cries and clashes of steel fell upon my ears. I stared into the heaving fray as I watched the Illidari flit about with their wicked glaives and carve up demon after demon. I saw elves, humans, those tauren running around, some appearing to be warriors, some hunters. A mix of green-skinned hulks and waif-like pointed-eared elves clashed with a pack of demonic soldiers, their cries of rage muffled by the rest of the fearful din.

Dog-like monstrosities pounced on stragglers and giant bat-like creatures flew overhead, diving down every now and again to harass the soldiers below. I noticed that when the demons came close to the camp they were bombarded with purple orbs emanating from grotesque statues placed on the perimeter.

As I studied them, Davina reappeared behind me. I jumped when she startled me by patting my shoulder. Her eyes held an insistence.

"What are those?" I pointed to the closest one. It looked as though the Devil's skull had been mounted onto a pedestal. The empty eye sockets lit up with an evil-looking emerald fire. They were dotted around the barricaded perimeter.

"Those are the demon wards." Davina moved her head as though she was looking for someone. "We need to go out there," she pointed to the mayhem which was the battlefield, "and help out with reactivating the rest of them."

I felt the blood drain from my face. My mouth opened, nothing but a puff of air coming out. I tried again.

"I'm going back to Dalaran." My knees wobbled as I turned. "Ack!"

"Oh no you don't." Davina said as she caught me by the neckline of my jerkin, nearly choking me. "You want your info, you need to work for it."

I whirled to face her, grasping her wildly by the forearms. "Davina, look at me." I said, choked. "I'm not a fighter. One minute out there and I'm about as useful as a chocolate teapot. How on earth would I be of any help? Bare-knuckle Boxing is all well and good but against swords? Guns? Maces?" I flapped my arms inn helpless indignation.

She bonked me on the head, laughing.

"You idiot." She said as I scowled at her, rubbing my head. "You have me don't you? I won't let you get hurt. As long as you stay close, you'll live. Besides," she gestured to next squad of departing troops, a mix of Illidari and other fighters. "It's not as though we're the only ones here."

I hugged my elbows and stared at the ground. She did have a point, a valid ne at that. I still couldn't shake the feeling that something would go horribly wrong though.

'Come on Aoibheann.' I told myself, 'stop being such a baby and get on with it.'

"Let's get this over with then." I grumbled, feeling very unfit and squishable.

Davina smiled at me, the expression instilling a minute amount of confidence in me. She was right. As long as I stayed with her, things would be fine. I trotted to keep up with her as she set out of the camp, sticking close with the squad of fighters who'd just left.

I jogged with her to keep up, wanting nothing more than to turn tail and flee back to the safety of the camp. All around me there were soldiers of all races and classes being swarmed by demons. The wretched creatures seemed to come from a never-ending source. Their horrid screams filled my ears, making my stomach lurch and constricting my throat in terror. Water splashed around my boots from the puddles in the uneven ground.

I stumbled quite a bit, nearly tripping up completely, only to be saved by a rather irate female Illidari covered with scaly skin and armed to the teeth with knives and daggers along with those huge glaives on her back. She gave me one of the deadliest glares when I bumped into her that I thought I would spontaneously combust right there and then.

A shout from one of the hunters in the front made me look up ahead. I stumbled again, this time from pure terror. A gigantic golem-looking creature was bearing down on us. It looked as though someone had picked up a handful of flaming green boulders, stacked them in the rough shape of a humanoid and then brought them to life. It, like the rest of the place, was glowing a sickly green and wreathed itself in emerald flame. The scream which emanated from its rocky mouth cut through me like a knife, making me freeze on the spot.

"Come on."

Davina's hand closed around my upper arm, nearly lifting me off my feet as she dragged me away from the now-unfolding mayhem. The group which were following were now leaping towards the rock-giant thing and I could hear the clashing of metal against stone as well as harsh shouts.

"What is that thing?" I asked the draenei who was trotting towards a pedestal-like object sticking out from the ground.

"It was an infernal." She replied, setting me down beside the object.

I flinched away from it. It looked horrible. A horned, grinning skull sat atop a squat, ringed pedestal. I felt as though it was looking at me. A silly thought, but considering the nature of this world, I wouldn't be surprised if it was true.

"How exactly are we supposed to re-activate this thing?"

"You don't, I do." I looked at her, puzzled.

"Why did you bring me here then?"

She pulled something from her pocket and crouched at the base of the ward, fiddling. I stood there, painfully aware that I was in the middle of a full-on battle and I was strangely not as afraid as I should be.

'I suppose if anything happens I'll be okay anyway,' I mused, staring at Davina's back as she fidgeted a little more.

My attention was caught by a sound behind me. It was a short, scuffing sound. I stiffened, frowning. It was almost like the sound of leather against stone.

"What the-?" I turned, only to collapse onto my side. All the strength I possessed had been sucked out of me. I'd been blinded as well.

My heartbeat thumped in my ears. Davina cried out in surprise and anger somewhere behind me, her voice muffled as though she was underwater. What had just happened? Did she finish the job? What was going on behind me? My vision came back. Golden light erupted behind me, bathing everything with a liquid radiance. I felt the strength return to my limbs little by little. My hearing sharpened and my thoughts quickened.

'I need to help her,' I thought as I struggled to sit up.

Another golden shower rained down upon me, filling me with renewal. I sat up and got to my feet, turning to where the chaos was, only to have a massive wall of muscle slam into me, knocking me back down. Dazed, I blinked blearily up at a hulking figure blocking my line of sight.

They moved, bringing back an arm and launching the appendage towards me with frightening speed. I couldn't even squeak as what felt like a miniature battering ram launched itself into my stomach, nearly bringing up my breakfast.

The world spun around me, settling when I found myself draped over a thick shoulder. My eyes locked with Davina's. She flung a hand out to me, her mouth moving rapidly, shaping words. A shadow flitted just behind her.

"Look out!" I croaked, weakly, noticing the waif-like person just behind her.

It happened so quickly. The priestess was clouted upside the head by a heavy blow from the figure at her back. Metal flashed in the sun, hinting at the use of brass knuckles. I wriggled in the hold of whoever had caught me, bringing my elbow down against the heavy leather armour.

My reward was a gruff shout and a clip around the ear, so strong I nearly lost consciousness. The woman whistled, calling another person to her side, dressed in similarly dark leather. When Davina was also hoisted up, the slight figure turned, stopping my heart and breath.

It was Alysria.

Shock left me empty. We began to move quickly, away from the demon hunters, the battle, and the job which we had yet to finish, and also my only possible chance of going home. Helplessness welled up as I saw the Illidari's stand rapidly diminish until it vanished completely from sight. The land under my captor's feet changed from rough cobbles and scraggly grass to lush meadows of wildflowers and craggy boulders peering up from here and there.

I barely noticed the change though. My gaze was fixed on the blonde elf who looked here and there, making sure we weren't being followed. Ice pooled in my belly, slowly slinking its way up from my gut and clenching around my throat, silencing the torrent of abuse I wanted to hurl at her.

After a good twenty minutes we stopped under the shelter of a gnarled olive tree. I was dropped on my backside. A slew of foul language left my mouth as I glared up at the hulk who'd hefted me about like a sack of potatoes. From what I'd read and gleaned from Davina, Fenrich and Mordaan, I'd presume that I'd be right in guessing that this brutish figure was an orc.

A seven foot green skinned orc at that, leered down at me, cracking his knuckles. Sharp tusks bored with rings jutted out from his lower lip, which twitched into a self-assured grin. His dark, braided hair and beard swung heavily with the movement of his stance, begging for me to have a crack at him. I bristled but didn't move, though every part of me wanted to leap at his face and claw that cocky smirk from it.

I turned my back on him, pointedly ignoring him and looked around for Davina. My heart calmed in relief to see her placed gently against the trunk of the tree, seemingly unharmed aside from the fact that she was unconscious. A booted foot slammed down in front of my face, barely missing my fingers when I made an attempt to crawl over to her.

"Ah-ah-ah," a goading voice chided.

My eyes travelled upwards to see a Blood Elf. He had blonde hair, like Alysria, which was short but well-kept. The strands glinted like spun sunlight. As well as the customary upright pointed ears and luminescent green eyes. He actually looked very similar to her, they could have almost been siblings.

I squinted. Yes, the same set to the mouth, although his was crooked up into a playful smirk rather than being pursed into a pout. They both had those delicate cheekbones and the same well-defined jaw. Even their posture mirrored a sense of self-importance and arrogance.

His well-honed figure, posed like he thought he was God's own gift, was clad in dark leathers, a pair of wickedly sharp and foreboding daggers sat sheathed at his hips, with the hilts of a few more peeking out from the rim of his boots and another sheath strapped to the outside of his thigh.

"Who the feck are you?" I wheezed, slipping my feet under me and standing, slightly hunched from the blow to my stomach.

"Hmmmm," He leaned down, examining me. "He didn't tell you? Such a pity." I noticed he was easily six foot six, much taller than me. Were all elves this tall?

"What are you on about? I don't know you." I shuffled backwards, bumping into the orc who shoved me forwards again. I threw anacidic glare at him over my shoulder before turning back to the elf. "I'll ask again: Who are you?"

"I am Ardalthian Solastre." He bowed, the gesture flamboyantly mocking. "You've already met my dear sister, Alysria, although she's not overly fond of using her family name." He turned to the slender woman leaning against the tree, absently flipping a knife. "Isn't that right, my dear?"

His sister pulled a face at him and casually threw her dagger towards him. I flinched when he caught it, sure that it was going to hit him.

"Why am I here?" I asked him, inching towards Davina's current resting spot. "I have nothing to do with you." I glared hotly at Alysria. "Any of you."

"Actually, that's where you're wrong, sweet pea." Ardalthian sauntered forwards, stopping me in my tracks. He flicked his blade under my jaw, forcing my face up to his. "You see, I have a certain grievance with your good friend. My darling sister," he jerked his head back, gesturing at the blood elf who was eyeing the interaction with dismissive amusement, "discovered that this person holds a particular…affection towards you."

"Friend?" I said, "Which friend? Mordaan? Fenrich?" Ardalthian snorted and cocked his head. He raised an eyebrow, seeming to ask me to continue. "Faeldryn…?"

A breath of relief escaped me when the blade left, only to be surprised by his next move. I gasped as he grasped my wrist and pulled me close, his emerald eyes boring into my wide, fear-filled ones.

"I would be a fool not to exploit this little weakness." He purred, "Perhaps I'll have a little fun while we're waiting."

"So what, you want to lure him here and beat him up?" I stiffened when the tip of the blade snapped back to my throat, the edge just kissing my skin. "What did he do, exactly?"

"Nothing you need to know of." Ardalthian said curtly, narrowing his eyes. "You'd do best to not trifle with me human." My skin prickled when he ran the back of his hand over my cheek. "All you need to do, sweet pea, is wait here and behave, got that?" He leaned in and put his lips to my ear. "Cross me and there'll be Hell to pay." The undercurrent of venom in his whisper gave me no doubt of that.

"What," I raised an eyebrow, feeling deliriously confident even as my hands shook. "You going to beat me up too?"

"No," he drew back and ran a tongue over his teeth, flashing those needle-like canines in a bright smile. "I have something more special in mind."

Horror clenched in my gut at the way he was eyeing me up. It was the same look a fat child would give to an oh-so appealing slice of chocolate fudge cake. I clenched my jaw and pressed my wobbling lips together. He noted my change in expression, his own softening into one of false reassurance. Still keeping his eyes burning into mine, he turned his head to the side and called his sister.

"Alysria."

His sister appeared at his side.

"What?" She asked, plucking her knife from its place at my neck.

"Take her over to the draenei, if you would be so kind." She obliged and pulled me away, her face set in a neutral, almost bored façade.

"Oh, before you do," her brother called just as we were halfway to our destination. "I almost forgot. Come here, sweet pea."

I turned to see him beckon me to him. My knees locked. I couldn't move. This fear which held me, I'd only ever experienced it in school. This intimidation, the sadistic look in that man's eyes, was the same sickening satisfaction I'd seen in my worst enemies' eyes when I'd been in school.

It was the look my bullies gave me.

He stepped over, that swaggering gait mimicking the same stride I'd seen with his sister. I trembled when he stopped in front of me, cocking his head to the side and studying me with a cold curiosity. It was as if I was a beetle crawling over his boot and he was contemplating moving me or crushing me.

His hand came up again, his fingertips trailing along my jaw to my ear. They were rough with callouses. His mouth crooked in a soft smirk when he saw me flinch at his touch. Still holding my gaze, he reached behind my head and took a firm hold of my braided hair. I winced when the force of his hold tugged at the tightly braided strands at my scalp.

'What's he doing?' I thought, still frozen.

His eyes narrowed, making the smirk more sinister. I saw him raise the dagger, the light flashing wickedly in the sun. My breath caught when I realised what he was going to do.

The blade flashed.

I heard a faint 'snick.' He pulled his hand back, my braid in his clenched fist. Alysria walked over and collected the espresso-coloured plait.

"Give this to him." He kept looking directly at me, waiting for my reaction. "Tell him whatever it takes but make sure he gets down here." She nodded and left.

A soft breeze blew through the grass, bringing a sweet smell. My hair, or at least the remnants of it, feathered around my ears, freely blowing in the wind. I raised a shaky hand, threading my fingers through whatever remained of my most prized and treasured feature. My head bowed, tears pooling in my eyes, dripping into the grass below. The reality of what had happened sunk in. At first I was devastated.

I quickly became angry.

'The bastard cut my hair.' I thought, snapping my head up and locking eyes with the elf. 'He cut my hair.' My mouth tightened into a furious line.

"You cut my hair." I whispered.

His glee at my upset quickly morphed into shock when I leaped at him, roaring. My fist drew back and snapped forwards, connecting with his cheek and catching him off guard. He stumbled back a few steps, licking his lips and touching the red mark on his face. Working his jaw from side to side, he chuckled dryly and gave me a vicious smile.

"Oh, now that's not very nice." His hands clenched into fists. A chill went through when I saw his eyes light up. "You have a good right hook, I'll give you that."

"You knife-eared waggon." I spat, circling him. He mirrored my movements, crouched and waiting. "You don't just cut a girl's hair like that. What the fuck is wrong with you, man? Do you even know how long it took for me to grow it out?" With another yell I rushed towards him again, wanting to pummel that sadistic smile of his to the ground.

I nearly fell on my face when he dodged at the last minute, leaving me floundering in empty air. I heard a laugh from behind me. Before I could turn, he'd locked an arm around my middle and held a dagger in the vulnerable dip in my clavicle.

"I told you," he murmured in my ear, "I told you to behave. Now look what you've done." I cried out when he pressed down on the blade, drawing blood. "You've gone and pissed me off."

"What the hell do you expect? Lord." I gnashed my teeth, desperately wanting to slam my heel into his shins and elbow him in the gut but any movement could spell my death. "You kidnapped me, you cut my hair. For what? Something I don't know and have no idea of just because I'm supposedly friends with someone. Someone you won't even name."

My chest rose and fell rapidly, the stress and adrenaline leaving me lightheaded and frustrated. I froze when I felt his lips brush against my ear.

"You know," he said, leaning in, pulling me closer against him. "You're not that awful looking for a human." I squeaked when I felt his sharp teeth nip my skin, revulsion washing over me. "Maybe we can have a little fun while we wait for your darling friend to arrive."

My skin crawled as his tongue flicked over the sensitive rim of my ear, then travelled down the side of my neck.

"Get your hands of me." I hissed, shaking with rage.

"Hmmm?" He pulled back. "Not enjoying it, are we? Too bad."

With a sigh he withdrew the blade from my throat but didn't release me. Instead he dragged me over to where the tree was, sitting down beside Davina's unconscious form and pulling me into his lap. I growled and wriggled, jabbing my elbow back in an attempt to clock him for one again. He responded by biting my ear yet again, this time much harsher than before.

"Aaaggghhh! Fuck!" I stilled, pressing my shoulder up to the wounded tissue. "The bloody Hell is wrong with you, man?"

"Keep quiet and sit still." He said silkily pressing his mouth against my skin and tightening his hold around my middle.

"Like feck I will, fecking pointy eared –"

My voice stilled when I saw a familiar figure appear in the distance. A proud, familiar stag galloped in our direction, the sun gleaming off its pristine white coat. Ardalthian gestured to the orc, who nodded lumbered out of view. I'd almost forgotten he was there.

Apprehension pricked in my chest when the deer neared our location. It stopped a few feet away, shifting into the Night Elf I'd grown to know. Faeldryn strode towards us, his face set, amber eyes blazing in anger. I caught a glimpse of something dangling in his clenched fist. It was my hair.

Movement behind him grabbed my attention.

"Faeldryn. Look out, there's –"

I was silenced by another bite to my ear, as well as a hand over my mouth.

"Now, now," The Blood Elf scolded me. "We don't want to spoil the fun now, do we?" I whimpered. "There's a good girl."

I snapped at his retreating fingers, trying to bite his hand. He responded by brutally pulling on a clump of my hair and wrenching my head back. I cried out, the blatant exposure of my neck rendering me vulnerable.

"Go on," Ardalthian goaded, trailing a finger down the column of my throat. "Try that again." I gulped, my pulse thundering under his fingers which came to rest at the juncture of my neck and collarbone. "No? Smart choice." He brushed his cheek against mine, the feathery eyebrows tickling my skin. "Be good now and I'll reward you later, sweet pea."

'This guy is insane,' I shivered, freezing up when he leaned back. I desperately hoped and prayed that there wouldn't be a 'later.'

The Blood Elf lounged against the tree trunk, pulling me with him. I lost my balance, practically sprawling against his body at the movement. Although he was relaxed, his muscles were hard under the leather. I felt his quiet chuckle against my back as he observed my open discomfort. My eyes caught Faeldryn's, fear welling up in me at his ferocious expression. He looked ready to kill.

"What is the meaning of this?" The Night Elf bellowed, lunging towards the Blood elf holding me down. "What are you doing with her? We're not in open war. There's no need for such blatant hostilities, Ardal."

"Ah Faeldryn, how nice of you to join us. You're in good health I presume?" The man behind me ran his fingers through my short hair as he spoke, making my scalp prickle. "This particular meeting has nothing to do with Faction conflict. In fact," He curved his body over mine from behind, resting his chin on my shoulder and drawing me against him. "You've been skimping out, Felly. Who's your lovely friend here?"

Faeldryn's left ear twitched, a tic I'd picked up on for when he was especially upset.

"Let her go, Ardal." He growled, struggling against the orc's hold. "She has nothing to do with this."

"No?" The Blood Elf buried his face in my short hair, inhaling deeply. "Oh yes, I can see why you might have taken to this one."

Another attempted lunge by Faeldryn was also accompanied by his enraged snarl. His bared teeth and contorted face reminded me of a caged tiger. The dishevelled turquoise hair and glowing eyes made image even more eerie and frightening.

"Ardal, what do you want?" He spat, his voice dripping with hostility.

"I think you know the answer to that." Ardalthian's mouth pressed against my cheek.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"No?" The Blood Elf cupped the side of my face with one hand when I tried to lean away, repulsed by his actions. "Perhaps if I do this," I froze when he tilted my head, capturing my mouth in his.

My cry was muffled when he took advantage of my shocked state to plunge his tongue into my mouth. Against my will, my cheeks burned and my heart thudded. I stared up into his smug, emerald gaze through dazed, hooded eyes. He broke off the kiss with a wet sound and a sultry purr, licking his lips.

"Does that jog your memory?" He said silkily, turning his head to face the Night Elf whose face had turned even more ashen than usual.

"I swear by Elune, I'll kill you." Faeldryn's voice was deathly quiet. "I don't know what all of this nonsense is about but I can promise that if you don't stop touching that human, you're dead, mana sucker."

The Blood Elf laughed, almost amused. "You've really taken a liking to this little thing, haven't you?" He rested his cheek against the top of my head. "But then again, she is rather sweet." His thumb brushed against my lips. "Very sweet."

His nail pricked the tender flesh of my mouth. I snapped out of my daze just then and jerked my elbow back, catching my captor in the abdomen. He grunted, holding onto me even more tightly. Panting, I pulled at the arm around my middle. When that didn't work I hit back with my elbow again. The elf retaliated by adjusting his hold so that both of my arms were pinned against my sides.

"Now what did I tell you, sweet pea?" He chided, tutting. "I was hoping I didn't have to do this."

He pressed a palm flat against my chest and I felt my heartbeat stutter. A pale glow was accumulating around the spot where his hand was. I felt all of the energy drain out from my limbs, leaving me to sag complacently against the elf like a rag doll. When he removed his hand from my torso, I could make out a pulsating, white orb floating in his grasp. It quickly became absorbed into his skin. I heard him sigh behind me.

"Ardalthian!" Faeldryn roared, struggling wildly against the orc. "You'll pay for that you green-eyed scum! Release her!" He kicked back against the orc, hissing when the big brute slammed a meaty fist against the back of his head.

"You truly don't remember?" There was a tinge of angered disbelief in Ardalthian's voice. "Or have you just made yourself forget?"

"I truly don't know what you're saying." Faeldryn growled. "But whatever it is I'm sure Aoibheann has nothing to do with it. Please, just let her go."

"Let me ask you this, Faeldryn." He pulled my body flush against his, "does the name 'Altherya Dawnchaser mean anything to you?"

Faeldryn stilled, bowing his head. His face shifted from rabid fury to dismay and also, I frowned, guilt.

"I, I," he took a deep breath, "I had nothing to do with her."

"Liar!" Ardalthian snarled, snapping his arms around me in a crushing grip. "You took her from me, you troll-eared scum!"

"You know that's not true." Faeldryn said, "You know what happened, Ardal. Please, let Aoibheann go and we can talk. I promise," he looked pleadingly at the Blood Elf, "I won't run anymore."

My blood ran cold as the laugh of the Blood Elf vibrated through my back.

"No. You've had ten years to talk," I gasped as Ardalthian grasped the neckline of my jerkin. "Now I'll make you watch," he pulled on the ties, ripping the leather, "and you'll feel the same pain I had to endure when you took what was rightfully mine!"

The sound of tearing fabric was loud in the sunlit meadow, as was my strangled scream of horror. I still couldn't move and so my upper torso, save for my bra, was bared for all to see as the elf tore my jerkin clean off. I whimpered, shivering as a hot, calloused hand slid over my exposed flesh.

"Stop…stop it," I whispered, only to have a finger press against my lips in response. "Let me…let go."

"No, my dear." He crooned, his hand roaming from my clothed breasts over the bare skin of my stomach, "it won't work that way."

"Stop…please…" I begged, beginning to struggle as strength returned to my limbs, little by little. I could barely move with the fear, the shock at being violated, humiliated in such a degrading manner. "Please let me….let me…go…"

Another cry escaped me when he tore at my breeches, ripping the thin leather. I was completely exposed, save for my underwear covering my modesty. From the way his hand wandered, that was about to come off next. My eyes squeezed shut, moisture leaking out from under the lids. My breath quickened as I anticipated his next action. Dread and despair trickled through my veins when one hand slunk down to the cleft between my legs and the other, releasing my wrists, grabbed one of my breasts. I felt him begin to pull at the fabric.

'Please God, why can't I move?' I thought desperately. 'Help, please.'

"Faeldryn," I wept, shivering as the Blood Elf's fingers down below began to press with newfound insistence.

A guttural roar snapped my eyes open and stilled the fingers of both hands. In the place where Faeldryn once stood, a bear now grappled with the orc. It swiped and opened up a row of welts on the orc's chest, blood streaming down in torrential rivulets. The green skin bellowed and swung an axe, which had previously been holstered on his back.

The bear dodged, surprisingly nimble for its massive bulk. It retaliated by darting forward and catching the green skin by the throat and began to shake its head back and forth, like a dog with a chew toy. I sat frozen, morbid fascination and pure terror keeping my eyes on what was unfolding before me.

The huge orc, built like a tank, was flopping boneless and helpless as a ragdoll. I could hear his bellows and yells of pain quickly turn into a Hellish gurgle. His lungs punctured and his torso imploded from the crushing force of the bear's hold. Blood poured from his mouth with a wet, sloppy gargle, making me want to throw up.

The body went limp, the green orc moved no more and the bear opened its jaws. I flinched at the thud as the dead meat hit the grass, blood staining the vibrant strands and feeding the earth. The bear turned towards us, viscous green fluid and saliva dripping from its ferocious maw, staining the dark fur with proof of its act.

I fell back against the tree and banging my head as the elf behind me disappeared, reappearing behind the creature. He leaped high into the air, his daggers held so the blades pointed downwards, ready to stab and cleave at the monster's flesh.

The creature dropped its shoulder and rolled, snarling in pain as its flesh was grazed by the razor edged knives. Ardalthian flipped gracefully, just touching off the ground before leaping towards the creature again, his blades poised for stabbing. The bear was ready for him this time and caught him mid-air with a heavy blow from his paw.

The Blood Elf cried out, knocked back and rolled as he hit the ground. Gasping, he collected himself into a crouch, spitting to the side and pulling a smaller blade from a sheath in his boot. With a flick of his wrist he threw the dagger at the bear. The blade sunk deeply into the creature's flank, a viscous fluid dripping from where the hilt protruded.

The bear snarled in anger and pain, charging the dagger wielding rogue and slamming into him. The elf made to jump out of the bear's path but the creature had gone into a berserker rage. It darted and caught the rogue in his midsection with those monstrous fangs of his and he shook his head back and forth like a dog with a chew toy.

My body went numb and my mind went blank as I watched the Blood Elf's body break, blood flying from his mouth as the life was thrashed out of him. I could hear the snapping of bone and tearing of cartilage from just how violently he was being thrown about.

When the slighter man had weakened enough, the bear opened his mouth and allowed the elf to drop. As he lay on the ground, helpless, the elf lifted an arm up, his hand clenched into a weak fist, and brushed the bear's leg before the strength left him entirely and his arm dropped. The bear then ducked his head down, his lip snarling and fixed his mouth on the rogue's neck, snapping it with a quick jerk of his head.

My heart nearly stopped when, once the bear lifted his head up again, it turned and faced me. I cowered, curling up and peering fearfully at the creature through my arms.

The beast lumbered to where I sat, trembling, covering my body with my arms. The closer it stepped the more I pressed myself against the tree, huddling away from the furry mountain.

'Is this how it ends?' I whimpered internally, begging the creature with my eyes to not do anything. 'Am I going to be bear chow?'

A small whine, barely audible, escaped my throat when the bear stopped, not three feet away. The metallic tang of blood tickled my nostrils as the breeze blew past us both. I eyed the massive claws, the jagged teeth jutting out from its mouth and the muscle definition showing through its thick furry coat. It bent its head, sniffing the air around me.

"Don't come any closer," I warned, my voice wobbling. "Stay right where you are, or I swear to God, I'll turn you into a coat."

Why the Hell was I trying to talk to a bear? As if it could understand human speech. It was just a dumb animal.

'Who do I think I am?' I scolded myself, still eyeing the bear, 'a Disney princess? Get real.'

The great beast lowered its head and closed its eyes. I frowned. Was it shrinking? It was. Only then did it click.

'Oh my God, I'm such an idiot.'

Faeldryn fell to his hands and knees, his face contorted in pain. I immediately rushed to catch him, forgetting both my terror and current state of undress. The dagger was still embedded in his shoulder, the viscous green liquid hissing where it touched his leather armour.

I yelped when the entire weight of him fell upon me, nearly smothering me. Seven feet in height equalled a lot of muscle, especially one with his build. His ragged breath and obvious pain and weakness brought a torrent of worry welling up in me, nearly sending me into a state of panic.

Not knowing what else to do, I manoeuvred him so he lay on his back in the soft, springy grass. His eyes, although screwed shut with pain, were thankfully closed.

'Focus, Aoibheann. Modesty can wait. You've an injured man on your hands.'

"Okay, okay." I muttered, mostly to reassure myself. "Everything's going to be fine." My teeth gnawed on my lower lip in worry.

I needed to check for any more injuries. My gaze slid over his body. His chest rose and fell with heavy, agonised breaths. Aside from the dagger stuck in his shoulder, he seemed to be perfectly fine. The hulking orc had only restrained him, not clobbered him.

A shudder went through me at the sight of all the blood soaking his clothes. It wasn't his own but there was just so much and the smell was enough to make my throat close up. I quickly clamped a hand over my mouth before I threw up.

Poisoned dagger. Fix it.

I reached out and grasped the hilt, eliciting a grunt from the elf below me. His eyes snapped open, the brightness dulled slightly in his pain. He latched his gaze on me, the intensity making me freeze. A gentle hand closed around my arm, stopping me from pulling the weapon from him.

"Don't," he whispered hoarsely.

I let go and brought my hand back, frowning at him, puzzled. He spoke again, gasping with every second word.

"….healing potion…backpack…red bottle…quickly…" Just as I turned he caught me by the elbow. "…need…blue bottle…"

"Both?"

He nodded, clenching his teeth as another wave of pain swept through him.

I stood and raced over to his pack, which had fallen in the tussle with the orc. Trying and failing to avert my eyes from the mangled corpses, I made my way back to the Night Elf. Sweat was beading on his brow and his breath was coming more quickly, the gasps harsh and not reassuring to hear.

I pulled out the red bottle and the blue bottle as he'd requested and held them out to him. He grimaced, sitting up and propping himself on his left elbow, facing me. With his other hand, he grasped the dagger and pulled it from his shoulder with a sharp cry.

I flinched at the sudden action, my eyes fixed on the torrent of mauve-red blood now pouring out from him.

"Red bottle," he gasped, his hand clamped over the wound.

I blinked snapping out of my daze and handed it to him. He took it from me with a blood-slicked hand, pulled the cork out with his teeth and downed the entire thing in a few heavy gulps. Once empty he gestured for the other bottle, which I handed over and he downed that one too. The blood flow slowed until it stopped completely.

He moved until he was sitting fully upright, pain still lining his features. Closing is eyes, he murmured under his breath, brow creasing in concentration. A shock of light burst from him, fading just as quickly as it'd come. I jumped back, frightened by the sudden, unexpected flare.

"What was that?" squeaked.

"I dispelled the poison," he replied. He seemed better, much better.

Actually, as he looked at me, completely pain-free it seemed I'd have been correct in the assumption that he'd made a full recovery. His glowing eyes widened and his lips parted in momentary shock, closing again and forming a wide, fanged grin.

"I wouldn't mind getting injured again if that's how my nurse would look."

I stared at him, the blood draining from my face in white hot fury.

"Seeing as you're so much better," I hissed icily, balling my fist in the collar of his reinforced leather tunic, "would you mind explaining what in the fuck is going on here?"

He blinked, the mischief fading from his eyes as the hardened.

"Nothing you need to know of." He said coldly. "It's been dealt with."

My fist shot out, catching him in the side of his jaw.

"Do you really," I punched him again, this time in the torso, "expect me to forget all about this? Really?" My knuckles stung from a good wallop I gave to his sternum, "When I was very close to being," My fist whipped out again, stopped by his hand, "raped?"

I bared my teeth at him, my chest heaving. He looked down on me, his mouth tightening into a hard line.

"What were you doing here in the first place?" He asked, catching my other hand which went for his face. "If you hadn't been here, he wouldn't have caught you."

I snapped. Wrenching my hands from his grasp I launched myself to my feet, kicking him in the ribs.

"How dare you!" I yelled, tears spilling down my cheeks. "To think you have the fucking balls to say that when it was you he was after." I launched my foot out again. "How. Fucking. DARE. YOU!"

His hand closed around my ankle. I growled and tried to yank it free, falling on my backside when he gave it a tug.

"Stop it." He commanded, grabbing both of my wrists and pinning them above my head.

I screamed and wriggled, ramming my knee into his groin. His face screwed up, a gargled, choked sound escaping him as he fell to the side. I quickly rolled out from underneath him, darting to where the remains of my clothes lay. With shaking hands I pulled the tattered leathers over myself, knowing that I'd just set off a bomb for hitting him there.

'He deserved it. Bollix.'

"Ow." I winced, my hands fluttering around the gash on my collar, courtesy of the Blood Elf.

Because the blade had been so sharp, the cut was clean, but also very deep. I'd actually barely felt it. At least, that was the case, until I'd put my shredded clothes back on and the scraps of leather brushed against the mouth of the wound.

The dark, sticky blood oozed out from the throbbing wound, smearing and staining my skin and clothes. My fingertips became spotted with the fluid which stood out against my pale skin, bright like an accusing statement. Dread flooded my body and froze my limbs when my ears picked up on the sound of rustling grass and light footsteps.

Faeldryn had recovered.

I trembled, images of the bear and what he'd done to my two captors flashed through my head in quick succession. I huddled in on myself, debating whether or not to just get up and run. But Davina was still here, unconscious. I couldn't leave her, we still had that job to finish back at the demon hunter's camp. I also needed her help to find people who would know how to send me back home.

The footsteps edged closer and closer, each one causing me to twitch. The druid's booted feet came to a stop in front of me. I refused to look up.

"Aoibheann." He knelt down before me.

"Go away." I snapped.

"No. You're injured." His hand tugged at my arms covering my chest. "Let me see."

I smacked them off me, glaring.

"Whose fault is that, eh?" I hissed, re-covering myself, "You never warned me, never told me that there would be someone who had it in for ya." My jaw clenched. "I don't need your help. Piss off back to wherever you came from and leave me alone."

His nostrils flared, his mouth tightened and his eyebrows met, darkening those blazing amber orbs of his.

"Why must you be so childish?" He said through clenched teeth, forcefully pulling my hands away, ignoring my cry of outrage. "You'll suffer much less if I heal you here and now. Just accept my help."

"No!" I shouted, trying to pull out of his grasp. "You're always doing this. You're always telling me what's best for me and forcing yourself on me." I hiccupped, ducking my head as my eyes stung. God, why did I cry so much since coming here?

"Aoibheann…"

"Just heal me and go." My chin wobbled. "I can't…"

He surprised me by pulling me into a hug. I fought at first, straining backwards in an effort to break free.

"Shhhh," he whispered, gently running his hand over my hair and down my back in long, slow strokes.

I began to relax, breaking down and dissolving into a scared, sobbing wreck. All the while he held me, rocking from side to side and rubbing my back, whispering words of comfort and reassurance in my ear. The warmth of his body, the gentleness of his arms around me and the soothing timbre of his voice made my heart ache unfamiliarly. Unbidden, I pressed against him, seeking a closer contact.

My ear rested against his chest, the regulated thump of his heart soothing me. He made me feel safe, something I'd not experienced since my Nana passed away. Something I hadn't felt since last night, when he'd sheltered me in his arms and under his cloak. Even then, I'd felt something…more.

'It can't be,' I thought, my heart thumping wildly.

Was I falling for him? Or was it merely primal instinct winning me over? I'd never had contact with the opposite sex like this before. Perhaps that was it. Perhaps I was just being swayed by my hormones and newfound experiences. I sighed and pushed those thoughts away, indulging a little more in the satisfaction brought on by the physical contact.

With a sigh, I gathered my thoughts and pushed my feelings down. Now wasn't the time.

"Faeldryn?" I said, my tone meek.

"Yes?" He answered, his voice rumbling under my ear.

"Could, could you please heal me?" I bit my lip. "I'm sorry for, y'know. For kicking you and all that."

He breathed out a sigh and rested his cheek on the top of my head, idly threading his long fingers though the short tufts of my hair.

"It's not your fault." Guilt wracked his voice. "I did something in the past, not thinking of the consequences and you were the one who ended up being punished for it."

I pulled back, looking him square in the face. He wore a solemn expression. Even his ears looked droopy.

"Hey, don't be looking at me like that now." I bopped his nose, "so long as nothing like this happens again, it's grand."

He smiled, catching my hand and kissing it. I flushed at the gesture seemingly out of nowhere.

"Now," his hands went to the scrappy leather which used to be my jerkin, "let's have a look."

I tensed up when he removed the garment entirely, my arms snapping out to cover my assets out of reflex. Faeldryn snickered and pulled them away, frowning darkly when he saw the mess just below my neck. His large hand gently probed around the area, eliciting sharp hisses and gasps from me. Just when I was about to smack his hand away, which was now flat against the gash, he frowned.

The tell-tale green glow accompanied by the soothing rush told me that the job was getting done. I glanced down in fascination as the edges of the wound drew together, sealing up. A faint, pink line was all that remained.

"Thanks." I mumbled, looking up at him, suddenly very shy.

"You're welcome," he smiled.

I pointedly looked at his hand, which was still at my throat. He didn't move it. Huffing, I grasped his wrist and lifted it away, turning my back on him and struggling to put the jerkin back on. He reached over to help, only to make more of a mess.

"Leave it." I hissed, jabbing back at him with my elbow.

He grunted on impact and stopped, but he didn't back off. I gritted my teeth, turning to tell him to 'go away,' when I was shocked to see him get hit by a dazzling ray of light. A cry escaped him as he was hit again, and again. Only he moved away, searching for the source of the irritant, did the onslaught stop.

We both turned to the tree, where Davina shakily stood, arm outstretched, leaning on her staff.

"Get away from her, you lecherous troll-eared dolt." She growled, stumbling towards us.

"Davina!" I exclaimed, racing towards her. "Here," I took a hold of her free arm, putting it over my shoulders, "lean on me."

"Thank you, Aoibheann." She said gratefully.

The Draenei froze then, her white eyes widening in shock when she took in my full appearance.

"By the Light, child," surging with newfound strength, she grasped me by the shoulders and turned to look at me more closely. "What in the world happened to you? Your beautiful hair, your neck, your," she choked, "your clothes!?"

She turned her head to look at Faeldryn. I cowered from the murder in her eyes, amazed that the druid could stand straight, practically unfazed.

"What did you do to her?" She hissed, her lip curling.

"Nothing." He replied.

I nudged Davina and she frowned down at me, concerned.

"He's right." I gestured to my tattered clothes and misshapen bob. "Someone else did this to me. He came here to help."

Davina inclined her head. "Who?" She said, fervently.

"A Blood Elf who had an issue with faeldryn." I answered, my hands curling into fists. "He, Alysria and an orc captured us and brought us here. My hair was cut and brought to Faeldryn by Alysria to lure him out. Once he arrived the Blood elf," I swallowed, the words sticking in my throat as shame washed over me. "He tried…tried to…" My hand clamped over my mouth.

"Shhhh. It's alright." The Draenei's clawed hand patted the top of my head. "Where are they now?"

I pointed to the bodies in the long grass.

"Did the elf have a name?" She asked, her eyes narrowing as she looked out at the corpses.

"Ardalthian."

I felt her freeze. She released her hold on my shoulders, stood up to her full height, squared her shoulders, braced her hooves and faced Faeldryn head-on.

"Faeldryn," she said, her voice dripping venom, "we need to talk."

Faeldryn's eyes narrowed but he didn't seem too troubled. I, on the other hand, had shuffled away from her. I knew she wouldn't hurt me, I knew she was a lovely, bubbly person who loved putting flower petals in her tea. But the contortion of her face and the way her eyes burned, coupled with the bony protrusions on her head as well as the tall curling horns made her look more demonic.

Demonic and scary.

"It's been dealt with," The elf folded his arms, lifting his chin. "She's fine."

"Fine?" Davina boomed, gesticulating wildly with her staff. "Look at her! She's shaking, she's scared. Her clothes are gone and so is her hair. She was nearly raped!"

I flinched at the word, hugging my shoulders. Davina pointed at Faeldryn with her staff.

"I thought you said you'd resolved that issue long ago." She accused.

"I thought I did too." He shot back, glaring.

"Did you know that this would happen?"

He turned his head to the side, grinding his teeth. Infuriated, Davina slammed her staff against the ground, causing me to jump.

"Umm." I started. They both snapped their heads around to look at me. "What, what exactly is going on? What 'Issue,' is this you're on about?"

"It's noth –" Faeldryn began.

"– He made a mistake and now it's come back to bite him in the ass." Davina interrupted him with a sneer.

'Karma's a bitch.' I thought, looking at the two trying to melt each other with their eyes.

"When did you realise that the issue hadn't been resolved?" The Draenei demanded, pointing at the elf again.

"When Alysria arrived."

"And you let her stay?!"

"It was the least I could do," he argued, clenching his fist. "I had to pay for what had happened."

"Well," Davina marched up and grabbed him by the front of his tunic, lifting him clean off his feet. "You've paid," she snarled in his face. "You've paid with her." She pointed her staff at me.

"I know!" The druid growled.

"Good." She released him, "hopefully you'll learn that your actions have consequences."

Faeldryn sneered and rolled his shoulders, his hands twitching at the daggers on his belt. Davina noticed the motion.

"Go on," she taunted, smirking. "Try it."

He didn't. Instead, he turned his back on the both of us and leaned forwards, shifting into the giant crow. The bird took off without so much as a backward glance and quickly shrank into a miniscule black speck against the pale blue of the sky.

Davina scoffed, marching over to where her pack lay by the tree. "He's a hundred years too young to beat me anyway." She muttered, seemingly to herself.

I stood awkwardly. The exchange had passed so rapidly, not to mention the rest of the events, that my brain was having a hard time with keeping up. One thing was for certain though. I'd most likely end up a sobbing wreck in the corner of the room at the inn later on tonight and the next time I meet Faeldryn, I'll not leave him alone until I got the truth about the circumstances which led to my almost-rape.

"Aoibheann, come here."

I turned on my heel and trotted over to Davina. She held out a set of clothes for me.

"Put these on, you look an absolute wreck."

"Thank you…"

I took them from her hands and examined them before shucking the tattered remains of my former outfit and donning my new assemblage. She'd given me a rather modest pair of trousers which fit quite snugly. I tucked them into my boots which, thankfully, had survived the onslaught of that perverted Sin'dorei. When I'd pulled the heavy cotton tunic over my head, I'd automatically reached in to pull out my hair. My fingers stilled when I was rewarded with nothing but empty air. The realisation hit me much harder than it should have.

'Stop being so vain.' I scolded myself, tucking the tunic into the waistband of the breeches and pulling the ties tightly. 'It'll grow back. It's probably for the best as well. Long hair is a disadvantage in a fight.'

That was another thing. If it turned out that I was stuck here indefinitely I really needed to learn how to defend myself. I hoped and prayed that that wouldn't be the case, that by the next few days I'd be back in Wicklow, hopefully staying over at one of my cousins' and working.

I had to hope.

"That looks rather nice on you," Davina cooed as I straightened.

I gave her a cheeky smile, "I look like a ragamuffin."

She shook her head, chuckling.

"Come on," I followed her as she began to walk back in the direction of the Illidari camp. "We need to get back and help."

When we turned up, the High Priest from earlier spotted us from across the camp. He looked mad. Davina said something unintelligible under her breath and cleared her throat.

"What in Light's name were you playing at, Priestess?" The man fumed, his intricate white and gold robes billowing in the wake of his purposeful stride.

"My most sincere apologies, High Priest," said humbly, bowing her head. "Unfortunate circumstances interrupted my work."

The man pinched his nose, breathing heavily. Although he was two feet shorter than Davina in height, I could sense a power pulsing from him. Maybe it was because of the awesome looking staff holstered on his back, or the way he seemed to glow from within, lighting up his short red hair and flowing robes. He glanced over at me, wrinkling his nose at my appearance.

"Who's this?" He asked, gesturing to me. "Is this your 'unfortunate circumstance?'?" Davina stiffened beside me. "Need I remind you of the rules of such associations, Priestess?"

"I'm afraid you're mistaken, High Priest." She ground out stiffly through a clenched jaw. "We're not involved in such," her mouth twisted, "relations."

The priest raised an eyebrow. "What happened then? While we were here, fighting off the Legion and aiding the Illidari, even rescuing a member of the Blue Dragonflight I might add, you were…?"

Davina's blue face paled. "We were ambushed by members of the Horde, High Priest." She leaned in, an epiphany of sorts glowing in her eyes. "Sir, did you mention the Blue Dragonflight?"

The man frowned suspiciously.

"What of it?" He asked, his tone clipped.

"N-never mind." The draenei stuttered, subduing her excitement and schooling her face behind a mask of neutral respect.

I straightened, feeling very awkward and out of place as the High Priest's eyes fixed on me.

"What's your name?" He asked, brown eyes boring into my own.

"Aoibheann," I gulped. "My name's Aoibheann."

"What are your talents, Aoibheann?" He gave me a cursory glance up and down.

"I well, uh, I," My eyes darted around, as I wracked my brain for answers. They landed on Davina's satchel, currently at her feet. My hand snapped out and grabbed it. "I carry Priestess Davina's bags."

Part of me died inside when the two gave me equally withering stares which had me questioning my intelligence. The Priest huffed and rubbed his face with his palms, shaking his head.

"Please tell me you reactivated at least one of the wards?" He said, peeping at her from over the tops of his fingers, sounding desperate.

Davina nodded. The man sighed in relief.

"Good, good. You can head back to Dalaran until further notice. I'll need to meet with Archmage Khadgar and Kayn Sunfury to plan our next move." He glanced sideways at me, "and to also tie up any loose ends."

"Yes, High Priest." Davina bowed respectfully as the man strode off.

"So," I said, fidgeting. "Where was this magician you were on about?"

My companion's face paled slightly.

"Unfortunately, that plan is no longer plausible." Her voice was strained. "Seeing as we were captured and didn't actually aid the onslaught here, there's no way for us to get near, let alone speak with the person we need."

"Oh." I said, my heart sinking like a lead weight. "So it looks like I'm stuck here for a while then." I drooped, my gaze fixing on my boots.

"Although…" She trailed off, tapping her chin with a finger. With a sigh she shook her head. "No, that couldn't possibly work."

"What? What won't work?" I tugged on her sleeve, a flicker of hope sparking inside me. "Please Davina."

"We can't." She brushed me off, her voice firm. "It would go against the High Priest's orders."

I tried to press the issue but she wasn't having it. And so, we'd ended up taking a ride back up to Dalaran, much to my frustration. We landed and dismounted in the golden afternoon sunlight. Still quite peeved, I turned to Davina to ask about what to do next, only to find she'd disappeared.

"Oh my God, Why?" I asked myself, striding through the city.

Shortly after speed walking in circuits around the place I'd sat myself down in the Legerdemain Lounge, lucky enough to snag one of those couches and nursing a pot of coffee. I'd reasoned that since I had nobody to go to and nothing to do, I might as well have started on some of the many books Davina had given me. The one I was reading now was a history of the world, although flicking through it I felt like I was reading a more summarised version.

Little by little, I slowly became engrossed in the book, entranced by the events from The War of The Ancients all the way up to the Scourge invasion, followed closely by the re-appearance of The Burning Legion, or The Burning Shadow as they called it in here. With each chapter I finished, I felt my appreciation and amazement of the races of this world grow. Twice they had fought back against the Legion, an all-consuming monster of an army, and here they stood again, defiant in the wake of a third invasion.

I reached out for my mug, taking a sip whilst keeping my eyes on the book. With a wretched gargle I spat the liquid back into its container. It was stone cold.

I blinked slowly, feeling as though there was sand in my eyes. How long had I sat here? Rubbed my eyes before shutting the book and placing it on the table in front of me. My joints popped and cracked as I stretched, yawning.

"Lord," I groaned, leaning forwards and pressing the heels of my palms to my eyes. "What I would do for a hot shower."

"Oh, do tell." A familiar, gruff voice said from next to me.

"Who's that?" I jumped, startled. My eyes landed on Fenrich, who gave me a smile and a wave from beside me on the couch. "Oh. Hi Fenrich."

"Good evening." He took a swig from a large tankard of something. "So, what would you exchange for a hot shower, eh?"

I raised an eyebrow at his suggestive grin.

"On second thoughts, I'll be fine with a bath in my room."

He laughed. "I'm just kidding." A frown creased his features, warping the scar even more. "What did you do to your hair? There's nothin' left."

"Oh that." I self-consciously ran a hand through the short, dark mess. "Um. I ran into some trouble out with Davina."

"What?" His eyes bugged. "Who'd you piss off so bad that they wanted to scalp you?" He gulped more of his drink. "Give me a name and I'll re-arrange their face for you."

"Hold on there now." I warned, holding a hand out. "There's no need for that. I wasn't the one they were after, I just kind of became caught in the middle by chance." I shook my head when he opened his mouth to ask silencing him. "It's been dealt with."

"Alright then." He gave me a suspicious glance but didn't probe any further. "Have you found anyone to help you out yet?" He finished his drink and called over a barmaid, taking a refill.

"No," I sighed, sipping my coffee and making a face. It was now ice-cold. "Davina took me down to Azsuna in the hopes that we may be able to talk with someone important if we made an impression by helping out but that was when we ran into trouble."

I asked the barmaid for a new pot of coffee and stared at the table as she waltzed off. "By the time we came back they'd pushed back the demons and the High Priest sent her on a new assignment." My nose wrinkled. "I got told off and sent back up here."

"Why do you think they got rid of you?"

"Fenrich, look at me." He gave me an up-and-down sweep. "I can't fight, can't use magic and I can't heal anyone either. What difference would I make, if any?"

"By 'I can't fight,' how bad is it?"

"Well," I frowned and tapped my chin thoughtfully. "My uncle on my dad's side taught me how to box, but that was when I was very young and I've since forgotten it except for the bare bones. I learned how to use a knife and a gun when I was training in the army, but then I got injured before we began to practice shooting."

"So, not much then." Fenrich concluded.

"No." I glanced sideways at him, catching his eye. "Would there be a chance of you helping me to expand on this knowledge? You know, how to heft a sword, how to mess someone up if you lose your weapon, that sort of thing?"

"Sorry doll." He shook his head, giving me a wry smile. "No can do, I'm afraid."

"What?" I exclaimed, incredulous. "Why the flip not? I'd be of some help down there on the Isles." Frustration welled when the man turned to me, folding his arms.

"I can't." He stated. "I'm not a huge fan of having women on the front lies in the first place." His eyes bored into mine as he talked. "You kill a woman, you kill an entire generation. That's what my old man kept telling me. Sure, there are some gals out there who can fight better'n I, but they're suited to it."

"And I'm not?" I felt my ears redden. "Is that what you're saying?"

"I didn't say that." He held a hand up. "Hear me out. The women down there have been fighting and training for years, 'kay? They know their shit. You?" I scowled, "look. Even if I did teach you, you'd only have the bare basics, you know? Besides." He scratched his chin, "I'm not in a position to be teachin'. I haven't got the time or energy for anything but this war."

"But you're not fighting the whole time, are you?" I coaxed. "Surely, showing me how to do something as simple as protect myself wouldn't be a huge toll on you?"

"You know that stuff already," he took another swig of his beer, "The Isles are no place for you anyway. Look at what happened today," He tugged on a tuft of my dark mop. "You lost your hair. Next time you might lose your life."

"I understand that," I glanced up as the barmaid brought back my hot pot of coffee. I paid her and poured out a cup, taking a sip. "I just, I want to at least help out in some way, y'know."

He sighed. "If you're that keen, maybe Faeldryn would help you." My hands wobbled at the elf's name. "Night Elf women are more or less equal with their men so he should have no trouble showing you a few tricks."

"I'll keep that in mind." I quickly gulped down more coffee, scalding my tongue. "Ouch!" I hissed.

"I told you coffee is hot."

We both froze, whipping our heads around to the demon hunter leaning against the wall, idly flipping a coin. My hand shook when I laid eyes on him and I quickly set my cup back onto the table before I spilled coffee everywhere.

"I see you're in good form." I said to him coldly.

"Hmmm, and I see you're as spiky as ever." He grinned.

Fenrich said nothing, only eyed the corrupted elf over the rim of his tankard.

"I'm going to my room." I turned to him, giving him a smile. "I'm tired and it's a little late."

"Okay. Stay safe." He nodded to me and turned back to Melandryn.

Keeping a watch on the tall, blue elf out of the corner of my eye I exited the Lounge and made my way along the purple cobbles towards the Alliance inn. Night was just falling. The air was crisp and fresh, a delight to my senses as I breathed it in. The worgen guards nodded as I passed over the threshold, going back to their watch, ears and noses twitching, their slightly unnerving eyes sharp.

Isimari Fairwind gave me a smile and a wave from her place at the front bar. I returned the gestures, suddenly realising how hungry I was. As I passed by the tables, I could smell the intoxicating array of dishes, mostly stews and roasts, wafting from the rowdy rabble of adventurers.

"Welcome." The blue-eyed elf greeted when I reached the bar. "I suppose you would like your dinner?"

"Oh, yes please." I said, "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse."

She laughed, turning to a pretty brunette who was passing by the bar.

"Marcella, could you go into the kitchen and ask Cook for a dinner? Thank you."

The woman nodded and turned down into the arch on the right hand side of the room, behind the bar. I pulled up a stool and sat, fishing out coinage for the payment of the meal. Isimari took the money, pulling out her ever-present ledger and documented the transaction.

My toes wriggled inside my boots and I gently tapped the countertop as I waited for my dinner, keeping myself occupied by humming to the tune of "Seven Drunken Nights," under my breath.

It took all the way until Saturday for the food to cook but it was certainly well worth the wait. Shorter a time than I expected as well, actually. I took the stew and thanked the barmaid, now stuck with the choice to eat down here or up in my room.

'Well I might as well eat down here.' I reasoned internally, scouring the area for a free table or seat.

I caught sight of a very familiar blue-skinned, snow-haired Draenei chatting with a short, stout dwarf who sported a beard so impressive I'd say Odin would have been jealous. Mordaan had since shed his heavy plate and was dressed in his more relaxed leathers. The dwarf, however, sat covered nearly head to toe in chainmail. Stocky pauldrons weighted his shoulders and a circlet kept his fiery red hair from falling into his face. I saw a large blunderbuss leaning against his chair.

Carefully, so as to not bump into anybody or spill my food, I navigated through the rabble. It surely was noisy and lively here, even with a small crowd. Mordaan looked up as I approached, a welcoming smile stretching its way across his broad face.

"Aoibheann." He boomed, stretching his arms out in salutation. "Archenon poros, friend." He gestured to the empty chair beside him, "come, sit. You don't mind, Horgar?" He asked the dwarf.

The dwarf grunted, more interested in his stew than what was going on around him. I gladly sat when given a nod by Mordaan. The stew was as good as yesterday's. While I dug in, Mordaan wasted no time in quizzing me about my day, especially my new haircut. When I told him what happened, his face darkened.

"I never fully trusted that Alysria," he growled, clenching his fist around his flagon of beer. "The Blood Elves are only loyal to their own. They may claim to be Horde or Neutral but in the end, they'll end any who comes between themselves and their own."

"Elves? Bah!" Horgar spat, gulping down his drink. He sloppily wiped his beard and pointed a stubby finger at me. "You listen here Lass, no matter what type, an elf will always bring you nothing but trouble. Arrogant, good-for-nothing, egotistical, knife-ear…" He trailed off, the rest of his rant turning into unintelligible burbles.

"You're too cynical, Horgar." Mordaan said, watching the grumpy man complain, smiling. "Have a little faith."

"Faith?" The tankard was slammed against the tale top, making me jump slightly. "Don't you go starting on yer 'The Light will save you,' rubbish. You Draenei put too much faith into yer singing crystals and blasted Light. Sometimes I think yer blinded by it all."

Mordaan sighed. It appeared, from the way they continued, that this was a common occurrence. I sat playing with the remains of my food, feeling drowsy, but restless. An idea came to mind.

"Say, Mordaan." I inquired. The big man turned to me.

"Yes?"

"Could you, perhaps, teach me how to fight well enough so that I don't die when I go down to the Broken Isles?"

The draenei blinked his white, glowing eyes. "Why would you need that? I've seen you fight. You have the basic skills. Besides, you have us to protect you."

"What about today?" I protested. This was going down the same way as the conversation with Fenrich went. "I lost my hair. I could very well lose my life the next time."

"You shouldn't be in a situation that dire in the first place." He placed a gargantuan hand on my arm, silencing me before I could snap back at him. "The only reason that I could see for why you would need to fight at that level is if you were staying here for good." He glanced sideways at the dwarf who had hefted his gun and hobbled out of the inn. Once he was out of sight Mordaan spoke again. "Hopefully you won't be here long enough for anything too heated to happen."

My eyebrows drew together in a scowl. "I haven't made any progress yet." I muttered, brushing his hand off and crossing my arms. "Besides, it's always good to prepare for any situation, right? I do want to go home, I just haven't found even a clue as to how I managed to get here."

Mordaan studied me, narrowing his eyes and stroking his chin.

"I'd like to ask you a question." He rumbled, looking thoughtful.

"Go ahead." I shrugged. "I'm all ears."

"I don't wish to offend by saying this," he paused, seeming to frame what he wanted to say before continuing. "Are you completely sure you want to go home?"

I opened my mouth aghast. Where the feck did he get this from? Of course I wanted to go home. Home was all I ever knew, all I had. I missed it, if I was perfectly honest.

'But to whom would you be going?' A slippery voice whispered. 'You were disowned and disavowed by your family, remember? Where would you go if you managed to get back? How would you support yourself? Where would you live?' I covered my nose and mouth with my hands, propping my elbows on the table. 'The most likely outcome is you wandering around Carlow, digging through rubbish bins and melting your brain with a bottle. You're far too proud to go on the Dole.'

I shook my head, dismissing the thoughts. I absolutely, definitely wanted to go home. It was my whole purpose for coming to Dalaran and sticking with the group in the first place.

"Yes." I turned my eyes to the Draenei who was still analysing my behaviour. "Of course I want to return. It's all I have."

He scrutinised me a little more before letting the issue drop. I yawned, rubbing my cheeks.

"I'm going to head off to bed." I said sleepily, my eyes drooping. "Thanks for letting me sit here."

"No worries." He waved over a barmaid and plucked a fresh flagon from the tray. "I'll see you."

"Bye."

I stood, slightly shaky and shuffled through the now increasing crowd of adventurers and heroes-for-hire, slogging my way up the stairs to my room where the promise of a warm bed and sweet sleep awaited. So sleepy was I that I failed to notice the shadowed figure leaning by my door. I walked straight past them, nearly trying to walk through the door while I was at it.

"You're going to have to open it first, dumpling." The harsh, echoic baritone chuckled to my left.

I leaped backwards with a screech, slamming into the opposite wall and clutching my heart, my hand shakily pointing at the now smirking Illidari who raised an amused eyebrow.

"Jesus Christ, man, have mercy." I gasped, my chest heaving with shock. "You nearly scared the life out of me. Announce your presence at least before you talk to someone."

"And here I thought you were an observant person." He sighed, flipping a coin.

"Hey, I'm tired." I scowled, tentatively moving back to my door. "It's a legit excuse too. You never know the things people get up to when they're tired."

"I'm sure," he murmured.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" I asked suspiciously. "You're not here for that debt are you? 'Cos no way in Hell am I going to give you, uh, that as a payment."

He caught the gold circle, closing his fist around it. I felt my breath catch in my throat as he tilted his head to the left, those lazy eyes burning through me. In the half-light of the hallway he looked even more mysterious, more alluring. His lips pulled outwards in a suggestive grin when he noticed my stare.

"Like what you see, dumpling?" He hummed, now studying me.

"Pssht." I huffed, turning back and turning the doorknob. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight - Eeiiiiii!"

A clawed finger tickled the back of my neck, playing with the short strands of my hair. Completely ruffled by the action I glared accusingly at the elf.

"What happened to your hair, dumpling?" He asked, toying with a curl near my temple. "You had it all when I left you last night."

My jaw worked in anger at his statement.

"Oh yeah," I said sarcastically, smacking his hand away. "You pulled a juvenile prank on me and left me to freeze in the rain."

"Hah!" He laughed, straightening. "It looks like my brother came and saved you in the nick of time." He gestured to my short bob. "Well, most of you."

I saw his mouth twist at the mention of the word 'brother,' making me pause in opening the door.

"How did you know he was coming?" I narrowed my eyes. "You didn't tell him beforehand or anything, did you?"

"No." He responded absently. "I can see things normally invisible to the naked eye."

"Ooooh," I teased, waving my hands. "How cryptic and mysterious. How old are you again, because I really don't think that you're old enough to be spouting Zen stuff like that yet."

"Don't believe me?" He narrowed his eyes behind the blindfold.

"No." I gulped, suddenly nervous.

"Hmmmm." He folded his arms and leaned sideways against the wall, those fiery eyes fixing on me. I felt that same feeling from the night before, as though he was looking straight through me. He smirked. "Nice underwear."

My face flamed. Automatically my hands shot out to cover myself even though I was fully clothed.

"W-what?" I squeaked, "The feck are you on about? No way can you see under my clothes. That's physically impossible!"

"They're a nice shade of," he leaned in, his face right in front of mine. "Black."

My hands clenched into fists. I opened the door, shaking with anger. Just before I stepped in, I jabbed at him with my left fist, hoping to land a solid before shutting the door in his face.

Of course, that's what I thought would happen.

He ducked under my fist and rugby-tackled me into my room, with me yelling until I hit the ground with an undignified 'oof.' I huffed, pushing against his chest to get him off of me, but he wouldn't budge.

"What are you playing at?" I hissed, wriggling my hips to try to nab him with my knee. "Get off me, you horny bollix!"

He grabbed both of my hands and pinned them beside my head, then put my legs in a weird lock with his own as he straddled me.

"What's the magic word?" He teased, pressing down on me with his weight.

"Um, please?" I said, still struggling.

He released me and I darted out from underneath him as soon as the pressure lifted. He raised an eyebrow at my Speedy Gonzales retreat but didn't say anything. I watched, stunned, as he walked over, crouching in front of me. I shrank back, wary.

"You know, I couldn't help but overhear that you were having trouble in finding an instructor for basic self-defence." He pulled a knife from his boot, spinning the blade in his fingers. "If you're interested, I could teach you. My definition of 'Basic Training,' is somewhat different to the mainstream interpretation."

"You, you would do that?" I felt hope flutter in my heart, quickly followed by suspicion. "Wait, what do you get out of it? There's no way you'd agree to do it for free."

"Oh, I'll decide soon enough." He tweaked my nose.

"Ouch!"

"So, yes or no?"

I sat silently. Here was a chance for me to be of some use with the others, and I'd probably be able to take those skills back with m for when I went home. It altogether sounded like a sound deal. I met eyes with him, nodding. He held his hand out.

"Deal?"

"Deal."

We shook hands. His hand, twice the size of my own, easily engulfed mine.

"Meet me tomorrow on Krasus' Landing at dusk." He said, releasing my hand and standing. "Don't be late, or I'll come and find you."

I shivered at the hidden animosity in his tone, shakily getting to my own feet. I nodded, turning to sit on the bed and take off my boots. His wrapped feet barely made a whisper on the stone floor of my room as he crossed to the door, giving me one last burning look before crossing the threshold and closing it. As soon as he was out of sight I immediately stopped fiddling with my laces and clutched at my pounding heart.

'What the Hell have I just agreed to?'

Melandryn had an air to him, not the tomcat type of Faeldryn. No, the Illidari felt more deadly, more unpredictable. I'd found it awkward and jarring enough to speak with him those couple of times, yet here I'd just gone and agreed to spend God knows how long practicing how to knife-fight with him. As if he didn't scare me enough.

"God help me," I whispered, re-working my boots and massaging my feet once they were free. "I seriously need to find a mage to help me."

My mind wandered to the grey-robed man I'd seen this morning. What was his name, Khadgar? He seemed pretty powerful, important as well from the way the High Priest had spoken about him.

'If I could see him, he'll surely know what to do.'

Yes. That's my goal. I would train until I was well enough to stand on my own in the Isles, I'd kill any demons I came across and I'd find a way to prove myself enough that I'd be granted an audience with the Archmage. Then he'd listen to my problem and help to get me home. A smile spread across my face in excitement.

For the first time in two weeks, I felt like I was getting somewhere. I stripped my clothes off and pulled on the linen nightie before brushing my hair, saying a few prayers and settling into bed. I still wondered why I even bothered with my morning and nightly prayers. They'd never been answered, no matter how hard I'd pleaded. I suppose it was just habit and it kind of settled my mind.

Tomorrow seemed promising.

.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.

Oh dear. I seem to have neglected this a little. Ehehehe. My deepest apologies for the long wait. Quite a bit of stuff has been going on in real life which demanded my attention like an angry toddler and I couldn't afford to ignore it. I managed to write bits and pieces here and there but because the formation was so disjointed, I had to also re-write it in a few places to make everything fit.

As always, please tell me what you think. If you feel some of the characters don't quite fit or that there are continuity errors, please feel free to point them out and I hope you enjoyed this latest edition of Aoibheann's voyage.